Ivan Suhkov writes in the Moscow Times:\u00a0 Crimea symbolizes revenge\u00a0\u2014 in\u00a0the Soviet, political and\u00a0negative sense of\u00a0the word. A\u00a0more accurate word is “restoration”\u00a0\u2014 a\u00a0restoration of\u00a0the state and\u00a0its rights that were allegedly violated.<\/p>\n
By reinstating the\u00a0Soviet anthem, imposing a\u00a0power vertical, giving greater social and\u00a0political importance to\u00a0siloviki structures\u00a0\u2014 particularly the\u00a0secret police\u00a0\u2014 and\u00a0reintroducing Crimea into\u00a0the country’s daily weather forecasts, Yeltsin’s successor, Vladimir Putin, has symbolically restored the\u00a0Soviet Union.<\/p>\n
However, advocates of\u00a0restoration tend to\u00a0miss one important point: both the\u00a0Russian Empire and\u00a0the Soviet Union ended in\u00a0failure and\u00a0collapse\u00a0\u2014 the\u00a0former in\u00a01917, the\u00a0latter less than a\u00a0century later in\u00a01991.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0search for\u00a0a new doctrine did not end unsuccessfully because it never really began.<\/p>\n
To\u00a0appreciate that this process did not begin with the\u00a0absurd ban on\u00a0the “falsification of\u00a0history” or the\u00a0“new historiography” trumpeted by\u00a0Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky, just peruse the\u00a0preamble of\u00a0the Russian Constitution.<\/p>\n
It speaks of\u00a0“historically established state unity,” “revering the\u00a0memory of\u00a0ancestors who have passed on\u00a0to us their love for\u00a0the fatherland” and\u00a0“reviving the\u00a0sovereign statehood of\u00a0Russia.”<\/p>\n
On\u00a0Nov. 19, an\u00a0Investigative Committee task force teamed up with riot police in\u00a0an attempt to\u00a0detain a\u00a0citizen allegedly involved in\u00a0the criminal withdrawal of\u00a0a huge sum of\u00a0money. The\u00a0person’s name is not as important as the\u00a0fact that the\u00a0police staged the\u00a0operation in\u00a0the center of\u00a0Moscow in\u00a0broad daylight against the\u00a0backdrop of\u00a0an unprecedented level of\u00a0excitement over the\u00a0revival of\u00a0the Russian state.<\/p>\n
The\u00a0police operation was a\u00a0complete failure.<\/p>\n
To\u00a0better understand the\u00a0circumstances, note that the\u00a0figure sought by\u00a0police is Ramzan Tsitsulayev, whom Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov named one year ago as that republic’s envoy to\u00a0Ukraine. The\u00a0men who managed to\u00a0thwart the\u00a0sting operation were Chechens, and\u00a0the region where Tsitsulayev is hiding out\u00a0\u2014 and\u00a0from where he mocks the\u00a0Moscow police\u00a0\u2014 is, of\u00a0course, Chechnya.<\/p>\n
That is the\u00a0same republic where Moscow began operations 20 years ago to\u00a0“restore constitutional order.”<\/p>\n
Two weeks ago Moscow police detained and\u00a0drove off with Magomed Aliyev, a\u00a0young native of\u00a0Dagestan who had come to\u00a0visit his sister.\u00a0 Aliyev resurfaced at\u00a0a detention center in\u00a0Stavropol, a\u00a0regional center and\u00a0a sort of\u00a0outpost of\u00a0the federal authorities in\u00a0the North Caucasus. Aliyev was urgently hospitalized on\u00a0Nov. 26 after he was repeatedly beaten and\u00a0someone jabbed a\u00a0pen in\u00a0his eye.<\/p>\n
Regardless of\u00a0any crime the\u00a0young man might have committed, the\u00a0actions of\u00a0the siloviki far overstep the\u00a0bounds of\u00a0legal procedure. It might seem that Stalinist terror and\u00a0a failed state are at\u00a0opposite ends of\u00a0the spectrum. But terror, by\u00a0definition, is an\u00a0act that bypasses the\u00a0rule of\u00a0law and\u00a0so indicates the\u00a0failure of\u00a0the state.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0one way or another, former Soviet leader Josef Stalin is the\u00a0focus of\u00a0many current leaders’ ideas concerning “restoration.” They erroneously quote Churchill\u00a0\u2014 namely, that “Stalin came to\u00a0power when Russia had only a\u00a0wooden plow, and\u00a0left it in\u00a0possession of\u00a0atomic weapons.”<\/p>\n
It so happens that the\u00a0world has never had to\u00a0cope with a\u00a0failed state holding a\u00a0nuclear arsenal large enough to\u00a0destroy all of\u00a0humanity several times over. The\u00a0world barely managed to\u00a0avoid such a\u00a0threat in\u00a01991, but only with some intense diplomacy, significant financial outlays and\u00a0a whole lot of\u00a0nail-biting.<\/p>\n
Russian fans of\u00a0“reconstruction” would like a\u00a0replay of\u00a0those times. And\u00a0despite blithe assurances from\u00a0the Defense Ministry that the\u00a0command and\u00a0control structure of\u00a0the country’s nuclear arsenal has been fully modernized, there is no guarantee that the\u00a0final act in\u00a0this dark drama will end as peacefully as it did the\u00a0first time.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ivan Suhkov writes in the Moscow Times:\u00a0 Crimea symbolizes revenge\u00a0\u2014 in\u00a0the Soviet, political and\u00a0negative sense of\u00a0the word. A\u00a0more accurate word is “restoration”\u00a0\u2014 a\u00a0restoration of\u00a0the state and\u00a0its rights that were allegedly violated. By reinstating the\u00a0Soviet anthem, imposing a\u00a0power vertical, giving greater … Continue reading ![\"Putin\"](\"http:\/\/www.w-t-w.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Putin1.jpg\")
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