Russia’s Way

Bully is the best description. Putin looks dour, rarely smiles for the camera, and broods over every scene. He swaggers and shows himself sitting in large rooms well separated from others. Rarely do we see him in an intimate setting discussing important issues. His style is declare and scare.

The style has given him traction in many settings. It certainly did with trump. And cronies with little spine to resist. The role of bully has served Putin well.

But not Russia’s. The complication is the collapse of the USSR. Russia lost more face within the nation than from the rest of the world. Outsiders were relieved to be rid of constant bickering and threats from Russia. At home, however, the people were in mourning for the loss of dignity and confidence.

Russia had been on the decline for many years. Roads, bridges and major infrastructure were in bad condition. Remember the US helping Russia financially and with infrastructure to downsize their missile inventory when the SALT treaties finally were implemented? Russia could not even afford the basics to remove and destroy outdated missiles. Of course, the rest of the world community was worried that these stockpiles would fall into the hands of terrorists. We still don’t know if that occurred years later.

No, Russia is clawing its way back to the world stage. Grandeur is harmed, however, with the Olympics drugging scandal, the competing now in the Olympics as the ‘Russian Olympics Committee’ and still they cannot shed the reputation of drugging athletes.

Then during the Olympics hosted by Russia, they invaded Crimea and repatriated that territory within the Russian border. Snarky. Poor form. But it worked.

Now they bully the world over Ukraine. This overgrown military exercise is meant to scare Ukraine and the rest of the previous USSR partner nations. “Do as I say, or else.” Yep, the bully’s mode all the way.

Putin’s name and political power is on the line. He knows this. Don’t forget the Panama Papers that explained the amount of Russian treasure Putin sneaked out of the country to offshore accounts. These funds are in his name. He plundered the national treasury for his own pockets. Most likely his pals were included in this. What were they going to do with this money? It was no longer the people’s money, but his.

The history of Russia is splendid, wealthy and artistic. The music, ballet, literature and visual arts are stunning. The history is rich and complex. Envious too. But behavior? On the world stage? Shameful. Most of it. Not something to be proud of.

So, the Hegemon Putin appears to change all that. Odd. The strategy is poor, even the tactic. The bully is in full view. It is not attractive. Nor will history change that fact.  

The truth of the matter is no nation can thrive without participating in and collaborating with the rest of the global community. That’s a good thing. It is the best tactic for world peace than any I know. Perhaps Mr. Putin needs to open his history books?

February 18, 2022

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more