Putin’s imperial ambitions are as strong as ever
The 20th century saw a massive geopolitical transformation around the world as old monarchies and empires succumbed to a rising tide of revolution, democratization and decolonialization. The epitome of this was undoubtedly the collapse of the USSR and the bringing down of the Iron Curtain. For the better part of the century, the imperial ambitions of Moscow to dominate the world had fuelled a Cold War that threatened the very existence of life on this planet. When the Soviet Union collapsed, much of the world breathed a sigh of relief.
It was hoped that most of the world’s countries would now be able to pursue their goals of autonomy, self-government and peaceful development without the threat of interference, domination or oppression by a predatory super power. For a while, this hope seemed real as Russia, the successor state to the USSR, struggled to find its place in a much-changed world order. Democracy, free enterprise and respect for human rights seemed to be making some headway. Regrettably, this hope was short-lived.
Over the past decade, as Vladimir Putin has consolidated his control of the Russian state, it has become obvious that the role he has chosen for Russia is the same one that has dominated Russian politics since the time of Ivan the Terrible. Russia has once again resuscitated its medieval imperial ambitions.
This has manifested itself in a number of very obvious ways. First has been the destabilization and attempted subjugation of its immediate neighbours. One need only look at Russia’s actions in Chechnya, Georgia, Moldova, Crimea and Eastern Ukraine to see the not so covert attempts at re-establishing a new Russian Empire or “Ruskiy Mir” as Putin likes to call it. Although Putin and the Russian propaganda machine expend a lot of effort trying to paint its aggression in these areas as being local conflicts driven by native rebel movements, any detailed objective look under the surface shows a highly sophisticated hybrid war machine controlled and fuelled by Moscow. The infamous “green men” that seized Crimea from Ukraine fooled no one. As for the “rebel” forces that currently control large chunks of Eastern Ukraine, it is curious how these rebels have managed to amass such a huge stock of tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery, sophisticated radar and military technology that would put most NATO countries in Europe to shame. Putin’s continuing denials of Russian involvement in Eastern Ukraine borders on the ludicrous.
The Russian meddling in Syria demonstrates another facet of Putin’s destabilization strategy. Syria’s cruel and amoral strongman Bashar Assad would have long ago met his deserved comeuppance had Putin not come to his rescue with a massive injection of manpower, arms and technology, prolonging a needless and incredibly destructive war. What many don’t realize was that this was part of a broader plan to destabilize and weaken the European Union. Prolonging the horror show that is taking place in Syria has caused huge waves of refugees to storm across the borders of Europe, overwhelming most countries’ abilities to cope with such an influx of desperate humanity. At the same time, the Russian secret services have been funneling support to extremist groups throughout Europe to fan the flames of racism, anti-refugee sentiment and rabid nationalism. This has been aided and abetted by a large, well-funded organization of trolls and hackers who spread misinformation, fake news and hate propaganda over the internet and digital media. It is hardly surprising that the political situation in many European countries has become so troubling.
This divide-and-destabilize strategy has in recent years spread to a more challenging target, namely Russia’s most formidable perceived foe, the United States. It is now pretty well acknowledged by most American government security officials that Russia engaged in serious cyber warfare and interference during the last American presidential election. Even more alarming, is credible speculation that Trump may be compromised with financial ties to the Russians and is being manipulated by them to advance their strategic aims. Knowing Putin’s Cold War KGB mindset and modus operandi, it is not something that can be easily discounted. That mindset is driving Putin to try and re-establish Russia as an imperial power that can dominate world affairs to its benefit.
Over the past several decades, it has become obvious that the corrupt, oligarchic system of government in Russia has driven its economy into the ground and is increasingly impoverishing its citizens. Historically, in such situations Russian governments have sought to blunt citizen unrest by fomenting external conflict and beating the drums of nationalism and patriotism. This is being repeated once again as Putin has come to the realization that he can only make Russia a player in the global arena by fomenting war, discord and division. If you can’t create or compete fairly, then you must destroy. It is the predictable tactic of a bully. The world needs to recognize Putin and Russia for what they are, and deal with them accordingly.