Russia in Global Affairs

The West’s ideological fervor – its need to moralize every conflict – has become its weakness. Russia’s stance, by contrast, is pragmatic, even stoic: The recognition that the world is too complex for binary thinking, that each civilization must now define its own path.

The events of 2022 drew a line under Vladimir Putin’s attempts to preserve or assert by means of political and historical polemics a narrative about the European past that would suit Russia. Putin’s extensive speech made on February 21, 2022, which became a foreword to the special military operation in Ukraine, heralded a transition from disputes about history to practical action to change its course.

As an ideological imperative built on Cultural Marxist dichotomies of oppressor and victim classes (according to sex, race, language, religion, etc.) this effort to transform all human society supplies a missionary zeal no less relevant to American officials’ and their fellow travelers’ efforts than their aspirations of global political dominion.

We have no rosy expectations that any outcome could change the relationship for the better. Nor do we have very negative expectations, because it's really quite difficult to imagine something worse than what we have now. The international environment is very important for Russia, the impact that US policy will have on the general atmosphere in the world.

Since populism has always, in the end, tended to be very conservative in cultural terms, both Putin and Trump are therefore tapping into populist traditions that are quite ancient, even if many American media outlets portray their efforts to be quite the opposite.

We should gradually free foreign policy of rigid subordination to geopolitics and related super-involvement. Geopolitics won’t disappear, but becoming less engulfed in it is an important task for Russia to tackle.

Stephen F. Cohen ‘s book War with Russia? is controversial and debatable. Any of the author’s arguments should create applause by his supporters and fierce opposition from his critics as they could be the starting point for a much-needed debate.

People used to have the right to their own interpretation, but the facts were common. Now everybody has the right to his own facts. Ours is a life in a room with walls of mirrors. It’s no wonder that we are scared of each other.

The world of the future will be more complex and volatile than it looked just 20-30 years ago. There will be enough room for a variety of combinations by different world policy actors cooperating with each other in different formats. The concept of multilaterality might become one of the guidelines to follow in this process.