Boris Kagarlitsky: How Russia Resembles Libya

Boris Kagarlitsky is the director of the Institute of Globalization Studies.

Russia’s leaders have searched for the proper approach to the revolution in Libya like a person who hopes to find a picture of reality in a distorted mirror in a fun house. Instead, they have found only the reflection of their own prejudices and stereotypes.

Just like after the Russia-Georgia war in 2008, the discussion on Libya has focused on nonessential questions. In place of an analysis of Libyan society, Russian officials have become bogged down in an argument over a clash of values.  These arguments do not further our understanding of the events in North Africa.

Russian analysts and commentators either condemn the regime of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi or sympathize with it. Arguments on both sides tend to be personal and lacking in any political substance beyond the occasional slogan.

It is clear that many Russian leaders were disgusted by the Libyan leader’s eccentric behavior, his poor record on fighting terrorism, his constant vacillation between the ideological left and right and between calls for nationalism and closer ties with the West. At the same, however, there were many who applauded Gadhafi.

The debate over Gadhafi resembles the endless and fruitless debate between the Stalinists and anti-Stalinists. For Stalinists, his bloody and tyrannical rule is the main reason they hold him up in masochistic adoration...