For Whom the Bell Tolls
.
Maia Orjonikidze
Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne
There is a simple thing the world fails understanding - Vladimir Putin is not only a rascal, but a seriously sick individual; sick with a full atrophy of moral imperatives and no comprehension of kindness and evil. This kind of people are born everywhere, but in normal countries they are poky, unnoticed office clerks with inferiority complexes constantly resentful of fate; possibly envisioning themselves as warlords, leaders or emperors -on whom the world destiny depends on in their maniacal dreams. Putins can be born everywhere, but only in Russia they get a chance to actually become presidents. Putin is a collective «I» of 70% of Russians, otherwise he wouldn't be demanded - not to mention respected. They say there are two famous curses of Russia - fools and roads, I would add yet another pair -space and oil. These are the very factors inspiring any Russian lumpen with unjustified, fake understanding of the nation’s greatness; when the understanding - instead of being based for example on well being of the country’s citizens, or on a level of education in it - is simply measured by sheer numerical indicators and endless kilometers of its vast borders.
The whole irony and tragedy of Russian history of past century is that in a modern civilized world Russia is the only country, where dreams of such defective, full of hate towards anything better, more talented and brighter than themselves individuals are fulfilled; the only country not hesitating to put its destiny in the hands of an accidental passerby sick with incurable disease.
Since 1918 all the way to the present times Russia has become a harbor for crooks, bringing up the bydlo, moral plebs and outlaws with lumpenized consciousness - in short a specimen constituting the necessary frame for a notorious aggressive-obedient majority with zeal deserving a better use; without them the very existence of this state in a form it has been in for the last hundred years would be utterly impossible.
That's why Andrey Piontkovsky is a hundred times right, calling Putin "The most outstanding jerk"; he, like no one else has dissected soul of Russia's modern Tsar, unveiling all the afflictive, grievous and dangerous properties inherent to this KGB spy in control of nuclear weapons. Based on the foregoing, the more tragic today's picture seems, the more logical the implementation of the 2008 Georgian, and current Ukrainian scenarios seem to be.
The West as a whole, and especially Western Europe in the past as well as nowadays has underestimated the destructive potential of a little man in a crimson suit, once humbly carrying a suitecase behind Anatoly Sobchak. Instead of acting promptly and decisively they play stage games with him, not realizing that Russian criminal "blatnoi" mentality, native to society Vladimir Vladimirovich comes from doesn't accept the fair game, for them it's either a winner or a loser. The West isn't quick on using pressure instruments at its disposal, and the reason isn't only misunderstanding of the nature of aggressor, but its short term mercantile financial interests.
The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine turned out to be a litmus test for the Russian society, revealing the flaws it's been suffering with, it also exposed the greed and ugly hypocrisy of the Western European states and pervasive double standards, when "what is permissible for Jove is absolutely impermissible for an ox". When Western Emphatically declared values like human rights and inviolability of sovereignty of independent states are sacrificed and bargained for short term financial interests of the Western European powers - not fully acknowledging that not only Ukraine and Georgia, but the global order formed after WW2 excluding a possibility of world wars for the last 70 years is endangered.
Nevertheless, the biggest mistake made by the West for the last twenty five years has been a dangerous illusion that after collapse of the USSR Russia would automatically abandon imperial aspirations, totalitarian preferences and turn into a friendly power recognizing the values inherent to the civilized world in a blink of an eye. One could argue, but the Russian-Georgian war in Abkhazia, (a lot bloodier than the South Ossetia war by the way) the Karabakh war inspired by the Russian intelligence and first Chechen war prove the opposite. All of it took place in the 90s, in the period of "a democrat" Yeltsin, whom the West sympathized, hoping he would be the one laying a strong foundation for irreversibility of Russia's democratic changes. Alas! It didn't work out and yet another round of melting the ice in the Russian history turned out to be farce again; so Khrushchev number 2 proved to be just a plebeian from Russian backwoods with ultimate goal of snatching power and wealth, making a fortune out of his political career.
All of this started right after collapse of USSR, thereby proving that no fundamentally qualitative positive changes were made in the Russian state and society, for the society, its mentality is impossible to change in just couple of years. In the meantime Yeltsin's decrepit, thoroughly corrupted regime began falling apart, completely losing support of its voters. That's when need for a small, crimson suit man arose. We have to give him credit, he took into account Yeltsin's mistakes, realizing that there is a demand is not so much for democratic values, all the more after being utterly discredited by Yeltsin's regime, as for a relative welfare and stability, especially after the wild and criminal 90s.
And Putin challenged this task very successfully by transforming the energy resources - the only thing the Russian state got for free - to a set of political and economical weapons strengthening his authority not only inside the country, but also on one hand allowing him to make the European powers dependant on him, on the other buying not too squeamish western politicians and opinion makers, further putting them at work as his lobbyists inside their own countries.
That's how the world approached the situation as of today - the situation which didn't seem probable to the Western countries even a couple of months ago. But they have been warned by those having personal and historical experience and subsequently understood motives and psychology of Russia's ruler - be it Lech Kaczynski or Mikheil Saakashvili. If saying " history teaches that history teaches us nothing" is right, this is the very case then for there is no appeasing the aggressor, its "appeasement" is a clear sign of a new venture and consequently prerequisite for new disasters regarding its future victims.
Ever since the end of the WW2 there have been numerous ongoing debates about historical parallels between the Nazi and Communist regimes. Many deem the Nazi regime a greater evil, this is partially due to the unconcealed Nazi ideology - being less hypocritical than its Bolshevism counterpart, it didn't wrap itself neatly in a veil of notions like "friendship of peoples" or "omniparity". Nevertheless, in absolute numbers of human deaths and particularly in regard to historical and social survivability the Communism appeared to be a phenomenon far more dangerous by nature. Nazism as a mass ideology has been dead for quite a time, whereas aftermath of the communist ideology still endanger the world. It's not a big secret that though formally noncommunist society of Russia by large still thinks in the best heritage of Bolshevic, totalitarian way, a couple of years ago Putin didn't even hesitate stating that he considers the breakup of the Soviet Union to be the biggest geopolitical disaster of 20th century. This was not a signal strong enough to alarm the West, it just turned a deaf ear and carried on with the same relationships with Putin's Russia - as if nothing had happened.
The survivability of the communist ideology in its contemporary modification has several reasons, but primarily one is the fact that unlike the Nazi ideology it has neither been condemned by the international community, nor by the countries that fell victims to its aggression. The Soviet people haven't gone through catharsis, or repentance of all that cured the German society from the ideological hell. Fair to note that unlike the Germans no one demanded that from the soviet society from the beginning. A major mistake the West made after WW2 the refusal of USA to finish the job and after Nazi Germany didn't want to defeat USSR - heart of communist ideology (thereby facilitating it becoming a nuclear power), but the fact, that even after the breakup of the USSR the West didn't undertake any action at all for communism - as totalitarian ideology to face its own Nurnberg trial. Death of Stalin itself shouldn't have served as an obstacle to such an important process of putting the society on a right track. There is more to it - from the first years of the breakup of the Bolshevik empire, the West started soothing itself with illusion of Russia's ability to transform into a democratic state, this was the very reason for neglecting the wars in Abkhazia, Karabakh and Chechnya in 90s - a clear sign itself of empire fighting for its existence. Yes, imperial Russia was "on its knees" back then, and the only thing the West showed the will for and managed was taking the Baltic states out of its claws. The rest of post soviet republics were handed over as a payoff to Russia.
The second primary reason for survivability of the Soviet totalitarianism is again the West putting effort neither in a total lustration process in Russian society, nor in post soviet republics, as it happened in Eastern European countries. This is the reason uncured disease recurred - the only necessary thing was "getting up from knees", which took place during the first half of Putin's reign. By 2008 Russia already "stood on its feet", and not too much time was until the start of implementing "a single, but fiery passion" of Vladimir Putin - the notorious "gathering of lands", - the only thing left was to find out how the West would react to this venture, and how firm would their resistance be regarding it.
Thanks to the aforementioned what happens in Ukraine for the time being is the very tragic historic pattern, direct consequence of inconsistent political actions taken by the West in regards to nondemocratic Russia, the West suffering from political ambivalence and historic amnesia, when the toll of a distant bell isn't loud enough for comprehending that sooner or later the bell will toll for each one of us.
Today, the whole world - and that means we too are standing before a dangerous line, the West slowly grasps the alarm of a present situation - where the steps taken shouldn't only be reflective response on aggressor's actions, but rather be preventive and effective means against communo-nazis of 21st century. So the bell never tolls in vain.
Maia Orjonikidze
Never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. John Donne
There is a simple thing the world fails understanding - Vladimir Putin is not only a rascal, but a seriously sick individual; sick with a full atrophy of moral imperatives and no comprehension of kindness and evil. This kind of people are born everywhere, but in normal countries they are poky, unnoticed office clerks with inferiority complexes constantly resentful of fate; possibly envisioning themselves as warlords, leaders or emperors -on whom the world destiny depends on in their maniacal dreams. Putins can be born everywhere, but only in Russia they get a chance to actually become presidents. Putin is a collective «I» of 70% of Russians, otherwise he wouldn't be demanded - not to mention respected. They say there are two famous curses of Russia - fools and roads, I would add yet another pair -space and oil. These are the very factors inspiring any Russian lumpen with unjustified, fake understanding of the nation’s greatness; when the understanding - instead of being based for example on well being of the country’s citizens, or on a level of education in it - is simply measured by sheer numerical indicators and endless kilometers of its vast borders.
The whole irony and tragedy of Russian history of past century is that in a modern civilized world Russia is the only country, where dreams of such defective, full of hate towards anything better, more talented and brighter than themselves individuals are fulfilled; the only country not hesitating to put its destiny in the hands of an accidental passerby sick with incurable disease.
Since 1918 all the way to the present times Russia has become a harbor for crooks, bringing up the bydlo, moral plebs and outlaws with lumpenized consciousness - in short a specimen constituting the necessary frame for a notorious aggressive-obedient majority with zeal deserving a better use; without them the very existence of this state in a form it has been in for the last hundred years would be utterly impossible.
That's why Andrey Piontkovsky is a hundred times right, calling Putin "The most outstanding jerk"; he, like no one else has dissected soul of Russia's modern Tsar, unveiling all the afflictive, grievous and dangerous properties inherent to this KGB spy in control of nuclear weapons. Based on the foregoing, the more tragic today's picture seems, the more logical the implementation of the 2008 Georgian, and current Ukrainian scenarios seem to be.
The West as a whole, and especially Western Europe in the past as well as nowadays has underestimated the destructive potential of a little man in a crimson suit, once humbly carrying a suitecase behind Anatoly Sobchak. Instead of acting promptly and decisively they play stage games with him, not realizing that Russian criminal "blatnoi" mentality, native to society Vladimir Vladimirovich comes from doesn't accept the fair game, for them it's either a winner or a loser. The West isn't quick on using pressure instruments at its disposal, and the reason isn't only misunderstanding of the nature of aggressor, but its short term mercantile financial interests.
The tragedy unfolding in Ukraine turned out to be a litmus test for the Russian society, revealing the flaws it's been suffering with, it also exposed the greed and ugly hypocrisy of the Western European states and pervasive double standards, when "what is permissible for Jove is absolutely impermissible for an ox". When Western Emphatically declared values like human rights and inviolability of sovereignty of independent states are sacrificed and bargained for short term financial interests of the Western European powers - not fully acknowledging that not only Ukraine and Georgia, but the global order formed after WW2 excluding a possibility of world wars for the last 70 years is endangered.
Nevertheless, the biggest mistake made by the West for the last twenty five years has been a dangerous illusion that after collapse of the USSR Russia would automatically abandon imperial aspirations, totalitarian preferences and turn into a friendly power recognizing the values inherent to the civilized world in a blink of an eye. One could argue, but the Russian-Georgian war in Abkhazia, (a lot bloodier than the South Ossetia war by the way) the Karabakh war inspired by the Russian intelligence and first Chechen war prove the opposite. All of it took place in the 90s, in the period of "a democrat" Yeltsin, whom the West sympathized, hoping he would be the one laying a strong foundation for irreversibility of Russia's democratic changes. Alas! It didn't work out and yet another round of melting the ice in the Russian history turned out to be farce again; so Khrushchev number 2 proved to be just a plebeian from Russian backwoods with ultimate goal of snatching power and wealth, making a fortune out of his political career.
All of this started right after collapse of USSR, thereby proving that no fundamentally qualitative positive changes were made in the Russian state and society, for the society, its mentality is impossible to change in just couple of years. In the meantime Yeltsin's decrepit, thoroughly corrupted regime began falling apart, completely losing support of its voters. That's when need for a small, crimson suit man arose. We have to give him credit, he took into account Yeltsin's mistakes, realizing that there is a demand is not so much for democratic values, all the more after being utterly discredited by Yeltsin's regime, as for a relative welfare and stability, especially after the wild and criminal 90s.
And Putin challenged this task very successfully by transforming the energy resources - the only thing the Russian state got for free - to a set of political and economical weapons strengthening his authority not only inside the country, but also on one hand allowing him to make the European powers dependant on him, on the other buying not too squeamish western politicians and opinion makers, further putting them at work as his lobbyists inside their own countries.
That's how the world approached the situation as of today - the situation which didn't seem probable to the Western countries even a couple of months ago. But they have been warned by those having personal and historical experience and subsequently understood motives and psychology of Russia's ruler - be it Lech Kaczynski or Mikheil Saakashvili. If saying " history teaches that history teaches us nothing" is right, this is the very case then for there is no appeasing the aggressor, its "appeasement" is a clear sign of a new venture and consequently prerequisite for new disasters regarding its future victims.
Ever since the end of the WW2 there have been numerous ongoing debates about historical parallels between the Nazi and Communist regimes. Many deem the Nazi regime a greater evil, this is partially due to the unconcealed Nazi ideology - being less hypocritical than its Bolshevism counterpart, it didn't wrap itself neatly in a veil of notions like "friendship of peoples" or "omniparity". Nevertheless, in absolute numbers of human deaths and particularly in regard to historical and social survivability the Communism appeared to be a phenomenon far more dangerous by nature. Nazism as a mass ideology has been dead for quite a time, whereas aftermath of the communist ideology still endanger the world. It's not a big secret that though formally noncommunist society of Russia by large still thinks in the best heritage of Bolshevic, totalitarian way, a couple of years ago Putin didn't even hesitate stating that he considers the breakup of the Soviet Union to be the biggest geopolitical disaster of 20th century. This was not a signal strong enough to alarm the West, it just turned a deaf ear and carried on with the same relationships with Putin's Russia - as if nothing had happened.
The survivability of the communist ideology in its contemporary modification has several reasons, but primarily one is the fact that unlike the Nazi ideology it has neither been condemned by the international community, nor by the countries that fell victims to its aggression. The Soviet people haven't gone through catharsis, or repentance of all that cured the German society from the ideological hell. Fair to note that unlike the Germans no one demanded that from the soviet society from the beginning. A major mistake the West made after WW2 the refusal of USA to finish the job and after Nazi Germany didn't want to defeat USSR - heart of communist ideology (thereby facilitating it becoming a nuclear power), but the fact, that even after the breakup of the USSR the West didn't undertake any action at all for communism - as totalitarian ideology to face its own Nurnberg trial. Death of Stalin itself shouldn't have served as an obstacle to such an important process of putting the society on a right track. There is more to it - from the first years of the breakup of the Bolshevik empire, the West started soothing itself with illusion of Russia's ability to transform into a democratic state, this was the very reason for neglecting the wars in Abkhazia, Karabakh and Chechnya in 90s - a clear sign itself of empire fighting for its existence. Yes, imperial Russia was "on its knees" back then, and the only thing the West showed the will for and managed was taking the Baltic states out of its claws. The rest of post soviet republics were handed over as a payoff to Russia.
The second primary reason for survivability of the Soviet totalitarianism is again the West putting effort neither in a total lustration process in Russian society, nor in post soviet republics, as it happened in Eastern European countries. This is the reason uncured disease recurred - the only necessary thing was "getting up from knees", which took place during the first half of Putin's reign. By 2008 Russia already "stood on its feet", and not too much time was until the start of implementing "a single, but fiery passion" of Vladimir Putin - the notorious "gathering of lands", - the only thing left was to find out how the West would react to this venture, and how firm would their resistance be regarding it.
Thanks to the aforementioned what happens in Ukraine for the time being is the very tragic historic pattern, direct consequence of inconsistent political actions taken by the West in regards to nondemocratic Russia, the West suffering from political ambivalence and historic amnesia, when the toll of a distant bell isn't loud enough for comprehending that sooner or later the bell will toll for each one of us.
Today, the whole world - and that means we too are standing before a dangerous line, the West slowly grasps the alarm of a present situation - where the steps taken shouldn't only be reflective response on aggressor's actions, but rather be preventive and effective means against communo-nazis of 21st century. So the bell never tolls in vain.