Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) attends a conference at the main operation centre of the Russian armed forces, with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and armed forces Chief-of-Staff Valery Gerasimov (R) in Moscow, June 6, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Michael Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin
Beware Putin’s Special War in 2015 -- The XX Committee
December 2014 is the month Putin’s Russia was plunged into undeniable crisis. Between the dramatic drop in oil prices and the collapse of the ruble, under Western sanctions pressure, Russians are going into the new year in a dramatically different, and lessened, economic situation than the one they enjoyed at the beginning of the year now ending.
This will bring myriad hardships to Russians, particularly because even Moscow is admitting that low oil prices may be the “new normal” until the 2030’s. Caveats abound here. The vast majority of Russians don’t travel abroad, much less have vacation properties in Europe, nor do they have hard-currency mortgages (the ruble now having returned to its Soviet-era pariah status). Moreover, the average Russian has a physical and mental toughness about getting by in tough times — it is an unmistakable point of national pride — that Westerners cannot really fathom. In no case now does Russia face the sort of complete economic collapse that it endured in the 1990’s, when the Soviet implosion pushed poor Russians to the edge of survival (were not so many Russians but one generation removed from the farm, and therefore had access to their own food supply, famine might well have happened under Yeltsin). Life in Yeltsin’s Russia, particularly beyond the bright lights of Moscow and St. Petersburg, where few Westerners visit, was harsh and frankly dismal.
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My Comment: An interesting analysis on current Russian - Western relations. It is a long article .... and while I disagree with the authors assessment that Russia may employ some forms of terrorism against the West, the rest is a good read.
There's Shoigu! Who's on Putin's left, I've seen him a couple of times. Yes, the article is a good read. I do think Russia will be much more involved in political and cultural manipulation in the West, plus the stage for Putin mischief in the Middle East is populated with many candidates and opportunities to make life "difficult" for the US.
ReplyDeleteFinally, and I can't emphasize this enough, Putin's message that it's Russia who is the aggrieved party and is the party of righteousness, truth, and defender of human rights, while the US the US is the hypocritical opposite, is very potent at home, the US, and especially Europe.
In time I believe it will achieve things beyond anyone's anticipation.
He is Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. He was appointed by Putin to clean up the corruption, and to transform the Russian military into a professional force. His equivalent in the U.S. is General Dempsey. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valery_Gerasimov
ReplyDeleteYou are 100% correct about this James .... "Putin's message that it's Russia who is the aggrieved party and is the party of righteousness, truth, and defender of human rights".
Putin pushes that message all the time, and it resonates in Russia because many Russians see the conflicts on its borders as being anti-Russian and hostile to Russia itself. It is the principle reason why Putin has high poll numbers .... he is just voicing what many in Russia are feeling.