Andre Fontaine: The Danger to the West of Not 'Helping Russia'
[André Fontaine is a former director of Le Monde.]
Brave, a good fellow, cultivated, sporty, a model father and husband … ? Whether people he unwittingly offends like it or not, Barack Obama is currently the most influential and, in any case, most popular statesman on the planet. Therefore, we need to pay great attention to what he says and does. And in particular, at the time of his recent trip to Moscow, to the manner in which he called for, "a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia," occupying "its rightful place as a great power," and stated his belief that, "the days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over."
How much we would like to believe it! But can we? Russia's recent interventions in Chechnya and Georgia; Putin's statement to the effect that the collapse of the USSR is the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century; his refusal to condemn Stalin's crimes; the peace of mind with which he and the oligarchs have carved fortunes out of the ruins of the Bolshevik state; the way in which he has dealt with the Constitution to retain at least an element of power that has come to an end; the murders of dissenting journalists - all this gives us the right to ask ourselves the question.
U.S. Secretary of State William Seward [photo, right], who purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, justified what many of his countrymen called "folly" by assuring them that the country of the Tsars "wants only what is good" for the United States and would let them "conduct their affairs in the way they know how to ..." Half a century later, President Wilson, in whose footsteps Obama walks in many respects, assured Congress in the aftermath of the October Revolution that, "for those who know her best, Russia's whole way of thinking has always been profoundly democratic." This wasn't exactly Marx's view, according to which, "the policy of Russia is changeless, as recognized by the official historian, Muscovite Nikolay Karamzin." Its methods, its tactics, its maneuvers may change, but the polar star of its policy - global domination - is a fixed star." [translated quotes].
Throughout two centuries, there have been innumerable greater and lesser minds who have said the same thing. Beginning, of course, with the Marquis de Custine, who in 1835 departed for a country in which he expected to find a good example of the kind of quietly conservative society that he dreamed of for France, and who in 1839, brought back with him, along with the manuscript of his book Russia, an indictment against a, "nation, essentially aggressive, greedy under the influence of privation, [that] expiates beforehand, by a debasing submission, the design of exercising a tyranny over other nations … on his knees, the slave dreams of dominating the world. One day the sleeping giant will arise and with violence, will put an end to the tyranny of others." [translated quote.] The Slavophiles, such as Herzen, Dostoyevsky and Belinsky, glorified this destiny...
... The Russian giant is facing decline in every area, starting with the dramatically falling birth rate. Extending over 6.5 million square miles - compared to little more than 3.4 million square miles for the United States, Canada or China - and spanning 11 time zones, it remains by far the largest country in the world. But it's a long way from being the most populous - the United States having twice as many inhabitants. The prevalence of alcoholism, smoking and criminality reflect a fairly general gloom. Where will it end? No one is interested in seeing a new page written on what Hélène Carrère d'Encausse has called, The Russian Syndrome - One Thousand Years of Political Murder. We must help this great nation.
Read entire article at Worlsmeets.us (via Le Monde, France)
Brave, a good fellow, cultivated, sporty, a model father and husband … ? Whether people he unwittingly offends like it or not, Barack Obama is currently the most influential and, in any case, most popular statesman on the planet. Therefore, we need to pay great attention to what he says and does. And in particular, at the time of his recent trip to Moscow, to the manner in which he called for, "a strong, peaceful and prosperous Russia," occupying "its rightful place as a great power," and stated his belief that, "the days when empires could treat sovereign states as pieces on a chess board are over."
How much we would like to believe it! But can we? Russia's recent interventions in Chechnya and Georgia; Putin's statement to the effect that the collapse of the USSR is the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century; his refusal to condemn Stalin's crimes; the peace of mind with which he and the oligarchs have carved fortunes out of the ruins of the Bolshevik state; the way in which he has dealt with the Constitution to retain at least an element of power that has come to an end; the murders of dissenting journalists - all this gives us the right to ask ourselves the question.
U.S. Secretary of State William Seward [photo, right], who purchased Alaska from Russia in 1867, justified what many of his countrymen called "folly" by assuring them that the country of the Tsars "wants only what is good" for the United States and would let them "conduct their affairs in the way they know how to ..." Half a century later, President Wilson, in whose footsteps Obama walks in many respects, assured Congress in the aftermath of the October Revolution that, "for those who know her best, Russia's whole way of thinking has always been profoundly democratic." This wasn't exactly Marx's view, according to which, "the policy of Russia is changeless, as recognized by the official historian, Muscovite Nikolay Karamzin." Its methods, its tactics, its maneuvers may change, but the polar star of its policy - global domination - is a fixed star." [translated quotes].
Throughout two centuries, there have been innumerable greater and lesser minds who have said the same thing. Beginning, of course, with the Marquis de Custine, who in 1835 departed for a country in which he expected to find a good example of the kind of quietly conservative society that he dreamed of for France, and who in 1839, brought back with him, along with the manuscript of his book Russia, an indictment against a, "nation, essentially aggressive, greedy under the influence of privation, [that] expiates beforehand, by a debasing submission, the design of exercising a tyranny over other nations … on his knees, the slave dreams of dominating the world. One day the sleeping giant will arise and with violence, will put an end to the tyranny of others." [translated quote.] The Slavophiles, such as Herzen, Dostoyevsky and Belinsky, glorified this destiny...
... The Russian giant is facing decline in every area, starting with the dramatically falling birth rate. Extending over 6.5 million square miles - compared to little more than 3.4 million square miles for the United States, Canada or China - and spanning 11 time zones, it remains by far the largest country in the world. But it's a long way from being the most populous - the United States having twice as many inhabitants. The prevalence of alcoholism, smoking and criminality reflect a fairly general gloom. Where will it end? No one is interested in seeing a new page written on what Hélène Carrère d'Encausse has called, The Russian Syndrome - One Thousand Years of Political Murder. We must help this great nation.