It is natural to try to personify the current stance of Russia by saying that "Putin did this" or "Putin did that" but the danger of this Putin-centric view is that if overlooks a far more complex reality. In particular,
1) This approach implies that Putin is all-powerful and does not have to take other people or powers into account.
2) It overlooks the role of Russian public opinion.
Contrary to the western MSM propaganda, Russia is not a dictatorship or even some special sort of authoritarian regime. I would even argue that Russia is far more democratic than most western regimes, especially if real pluralism and diversity is the criterion by which "democracy" is measured (there can be no possible denial that Russia is infinitely more democratic than the USA which is neither a democracy nor a republic, but a dictatorship run by and for the 1% plutocracy which keeps the 99% in a conditional similar to modern version of feudal serfdom). True - Putin has succeeded in concentrating most of state power in his hands, but he is far from having the control of most economic power in Russia, nor is the bureaucracy he rules over monolithic: there are powerful clans and lobbies inside it fighting for power, including the pro-Western "Atlantic Integrationists". One of such powerful lobbies is the Russian military.
Recently, the ex-Soviet Minister of Defense, Dimitri Iazov, the only Soviet Marshal still alive, spoke before a meeting of the Association of the All-Army Reserve Officers and declared that:
"Some hotheads are in favor of sending our armed forces into the territory of South-Eastern Ukraine, where there is a war taking place. We cannot allow this. We cannot send out troops into the territory of People's Republics of Donbass and Lugansk, which are unrecognized republics and which are part of another country - Ukraine. Such reckless actions could lead to a third world war."
Now Iazov is hardly a softie or a pot-smoking peacenik. In fact, Iazov was not only the last Minister of Defense and Marshal of the USSR up until 1991, he also a member of the GKChP or State Committee on the State of Emergency which tried to overthrow Gorbachev in the 1991 coup. We are talking about a man who fought during WWII and who later rose through the ranks to become a Candidate Member of the Soviet Politburo. In other words, a pure product of the Soviet era, a sincere and dedicated Communist, and a man who remembers the wars in Afghanistan and Nagorno-Karabach. Just look at this guy's mug - he is a typical Soviet tough guy.
Complete story at - The Vineyard of the Saker: Keeping things in perspective - it's not only Putin
1) This approach implies that Putin is all-powerful and does not have to take other people or powers into account.
2) It overlooks the role of Russian public opinion.
Contrary to the western MSM propaganda, Russia is not a dictatorship or even some special sort of authoritarian regime. I would even argue that Russia is far more democratic than most western regimes, especially if real pluralism and diversity is the criterion by which "democracy" is measured (there can be no possible denial that Russia is infinitely more democratic than the USA which is neither a democracy nor a republic, but a dictatorship run by and for the 1% plutocracy which keeps the 99% in a conditional similar to modern version of feudal serfdom). True - Putin has succeeded in concentrating most of state power in his hands, but he is far from having the control of most economic power in Russia, nor is the bureaucracy he rules over monolithic: there are powerful clans and lobbies inside it fighting for power, including the pro-Western "Atlantic Integrationists". One of such powerful lobbies is the Russian military.
Recently, the ex-Soviet Minister of Defense, Dimitri Iazov, the only Soviet Marshal still alive, spoke before a meeting of the Association of the All-Army Reserve Officers and declared that:
"Some hotheads are in favor of sending our armed forces into the territory of South-Eastern Ukraine, where there is a war taking place. We cannot allow this. We cannot send out troops into the territory of People's Republics of Donbass and Lugansk, which are unrecognized republics and which are part of another country - Ukraine. Such reckless actions could lead to a third world war."
Now Iazov is hardly a softie or a pot-smoking peacenik. In fact, Iazov was not only the last Minister of Defense and Marshal of the USSR up until 1991, he also a member of the GKChP or State Committee on the State of Emergency which tried to overthrow Gorbachev in the 1991 coup. We are talking about a man who fought during WWII and who later rose through the ranks to become a Candidate Member of the Soviet Politburo. In other words, a pure product of the Soviet era, a sincere and dedicated Communist, and a man who remembers the wars in Afghanistan and Nagorno-Karabach. Just look at this guy's mug - he is a typical Soviet tough guy.
Complete story at - The Vineyard of the Saker: Keeping things in perspective - it's not only Putin
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