He subordinates everything else to victory: Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to the Vostochnyj cosmodrome in eastern Siberia in April 2022.
Image: Getty
Putin’s perestroika: Russia’s ruler has systematically restored the Russian state to its original autocratic form. He pushes boundaries and threatens anyone who disagrees with him. A guest post.
Dhe young Chekhov wrote a humorous tale about a Frenchman who, in a Moscow tavern, sees Russian merchants plastering mountains of bliny with black caviar. He thinks they’ve either gone insane or intended to commit suicide by entangling their intestines—but no, they were just used to eating like this.
The same is happening right now with Western analysis of Putin’s Russia. From the Western perspective, Putin is effectively destroying the Russian state. Especially since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. It destroys all the foundations on which a modern civilized state can exist. He breaks all the laws of war and peace, he leads his government out of the rule of law. He’s poked fun at European leaders, lied to them in the face, caught a bear on the phone, and now he brushes aside all accusations of being responsible for the murder of peaceful Ukrainian citizens and the targeted destruction of cities in the neighboring country. In the West, ignorant of Russian historical tradition, the indignant conclusion is drawn that he is a madman, a war fanatic, when in fact – like the merchants in Chekhov’s tale – he is simply satisfying his appetite, in this case the appetite of the Russians autocratic state power.