'..Putin could get killed by a falling house tomorrow and very little would change. It wouldn’t be like the death of the Wicked Witch of the East leading to the liberation of the Munchkins. Russia would be Russia. The changes in Russian policy and mindset would be superficial, at best. Russia would continue its centuries-long attractive-repulsive relationship with the West. Russia would continue to have strong authoritarian tendencies and an abiding suspicion of its neighbors.''..
Gaidar wrote a book about a decade ago titled “Collapse of Empire” which starts out discussing the lost empire syndrome and how it has haunted Russian consciousness since 1991, and which argues that Russia won’t progress until it gets over that loss. Gaidar noted that this was accompanied by widespread resentment of the West, and ambivalence–or worse–about where Russia fit in.
..
The current obsession with Putin in the West obscures that fundamental fact. Putin could get killed by a falling house tomorrow and very little would change. It wouldn’t be like the death of the Wicked Witch of the East leading to the liberation of the Munchkins. Russia would be Russia. The changes in Russian policy and mindset would be superficial, at best. Russia would continue its centuries-long attractive-repulsive relationship with the West. Russia would continue to have strong authoritarian tendencies and an abiding suspicion of its neighbors.
Unfortunately, the Trofimov piece, like so many others, completely lacks this historical context, and leaves one with the impression that what is happening now in Russia is something extraordinary. It’s not: it’s very ordinary, in the Russian scheme of things. But by giving the opposite impression, articles like this create false perceptions about current events, and false expectations about how things may change in the future, or how American or European policies could materially impact how things evolve.
There’s an old expression: .. That’s Russia. Often said with a shrug, indicating resignation about things that have always been so, and are unlikely to change. Yaroslav Trofimov hasn’t identified something new. He’s basically described something quite old: That’s Russia. Would more people understand that was the case.'
- Streetwise Professor,
No, Putin is Not a Genghis Wannabe Pinin’ for the Hordes. That’s Russia, July 7, 2018
Context'..the collapse of the USSR was the luckiest event in the past half-century..''..Putin and the siloviki, like the Bourbons, have learned nothing and forgotten nothing..''..Putin’s Russia .. feudalism..' - '..The Byzantine choice was fundamental in the evolution of Russian society and state compared to Western Europe..'