Medvedev Faces Tough Choice
In the early-Yeltsin era many people said, and some even believed, that post-Soviet Russia would be building its relations with the Western civilization on the basis of common values, from which fundamental joint interests would logically ensue. With those beautiful speeches, Russia’s foreign policy acquired a large credit of trust from the recent opponents. That credit was enough for saving the great power attributes and for securing the re-election of Boris Yeltsin himself, without which there would have been no administration of Vladimir Putin.
The latter, heir to a country with quite exhausted credit of trust, worked at restoring it more or less, but then swelled with arrogance and started blowing it off. So successfully, in fact, that former speeches about common values now seem a wonderful dream to some, and a devilish nightmare to others. Meanwhile, Russia’s common interests with the Western world boil down to the unwillingness to perish in a nuclear war. Other interests are polar, almost like in old Soviet times. That is what all public opinion leaders are now telling us, -- from the president down to the last court spin doctor.
Someone would say it is not serious this time.
Indeed, the hatred to the Western civilization and its vile values is instigated in Russia almost exclusively to be consumed by broad public. Meanwhile, the Russian elite itself, except several schizophrenics, have a quite positive attitude towards the West, and is not going to measure strength with it. Yet, long and evil tongues are sometimes worse than a gun. In the international relations as well. Threats, insults, and curses, which are uttered at official level, are seen by their object as a declaration of ill intentions, to which it is necessary to respond.
In recent years, President Putin and his administration have seldom picked words when speaking of the West and, first of all, of ‘big devil’ the United States. In their turn, it seems none of the U.S. presidential candidates forgot to critically, and sometimes insultingly, speak of Russia’s president, his foreign and domestic policy. Against that backdrop, it was especially evident that the chief presidential candidate of Russia did not mix himself in the dispute with the adversary, retaining some freedom of hands. Perhaps, so as to be able in future to make corrections to Russia’s foreign policy, which has grown so unprecedentedly scandalous.
So, Dmitry Medvedev’s hard fate has now brought him to Serbia, which is suffering the tragedy of losing Kosovo. It is unthinkable not to say a bad word about the West’s unscrupulous policy. To say it – is politically onerous. It is better to make positive suggestions, but Russia has got none so far. In short, Medvedev is in a difficult position.
Here a question arises involuntarily: whom should he thank for that which the Russian elite’s half-criminal language defines as ‘buckpassing’?
Georgy Kunadze, leading research fellow of the Global Economy and Foreign Relations Institute at the Russian Academy of Sciences, and former deputy foreign minister of Russia.
All the Article in Russian as of Feb. 26, 2008
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