VLADIMIR PUTIN AND HIS RUSSIA

VLADIMIR
 PUTIN
  AND
  HIS
 RUSSIA

“Who ever in Europe ever thinks
           of us?”

     Pyotr Chaadaev (1794-1856)

         Russian philosopher

Everything old is new again

                  Tsar Alexander III

               (reigned 1881-1894)

               • Orthodoxy

               • Autocracy

               • The Motherland

Reception for Alexander III
       (Ilya Repin)

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881)

• “The Religion of the
  Russian People (not
  Orthodoxy)

• Spirituality

• Personal Freedom of
  Choice

• “We are all guilty of
  each other’s sins”

Dostoevsky

• Russians are spiritual, not materialistic

• Sin is collective, we all have a “dark side.”

• God is all-forgiving.

• The West is materialistic, walks away from
  spirituality. The East does not value life.

• The Roman Catholic church has “sold out”
  because it accepted ruling the Roman Empire.

• (Anti-semitism)

Dostoevsky’s legacy

• Virtually unpublished in the USSR.

• Becomes incredibly popular in the western
  world from the 1950’s.

• Influences Existentialism, modern liberal
  Protestant thought.

• Regarded positively in the Catholic Church,
  despite his anti-Catholic views.

Dostoevsky’s influence

Religion: Modern Protestant Theology

Politics: Sells idea in the west that Russians are spiritual

Psychology: Exploration of the “darker side”

Philosophy: Existentialism: Camus, Sartre

Individualism: Ayn Rand

Putin’s Inspiration

        VLADIMIR


SOLOVIEV


1853-1900

Vladimir Soloviev

          From ancient Russian
            family.

          Father (Sergei)-- greatest
            Russian historian of
            19th century.

          Inspiration for Alexis
            Karamazov

Soloviev

• Was a mystic, “saw” Sophia (the
  incarnation of Holy Wisdom) three times: as
  a child, at the British Museum, in Egypt.

• Professed a neo-Platonic universe.

• Met with Pope Leo XII to discuss the
  reunification of the Eastern and Western
  Churches.

Begins where Dostoevsky left off
       and then some…

• Russia’s role is to unite East and West

• Orthodox Church is powerless to be the unifying
  institution.

• The Russian state is capable of doing the uniting,
  but is not spiritual by its nature.

• A union is needed between the Orthodox church
  and the Roman Catholic church.

• Russia will help unite the two branches of
  Christianity.

Soloviev’s legacy

Gave birth to neo-Platonic movement in
  Russia, Russian avant-garde.

Was virtually unpublished during Soviet
  period. Works published abroad.

Some of his followers regarded him as the
  Second Coming of Christ.

Soloviev and Putin

• Putin uses Soloviev’s ideas to justify the power of
  “Russianness.”

• Putin professes Orthodoxy, has a personal
  confessor

• Putin rejects any reliance with the west, it just has
  never worked for Russia.

• Putin advocates “Orthodox values,” I.e., family,
  anti-alcoholism, anti-homosexuality, spirituality,
  piety.

• Rejects idea that Ukraine is a separate entity from
  Russia.

Ivan Ilyin, émigré theologian and
    philosopher (1883-1954)

                 • Putin moves Ilyin’s
                   remains to Russia
                   from Switzerland to a
                   place of honor in the
                   Donskoy Monastery in
                   Moscow.

Traditional Russian policies

• Uniter of the Slavic lands

• Protector of Orthodoxy

• Protector of Orthodox people abroad

• Need for access to the sea with a warm-
  water port.

• Alliances, treaties to Russia’s advantage
  (I’m ok, you’re not ok).

• Surrounded by enemies.

(The?) Ukraine

• The Ukrainian region has had its own rule
    as a nation only three times:


Kievan Rus’ (880-1132)


Cossack State (1648-1654)


Separate Ukrainian states (1917-1919)


Present-day Ukraine (1992- )

Not only Ukraine obsesses about
           “The”…

The Three Rus’ States

• Micro-Rus (Greek term) for Kievan Rus,
    becomes Malorus, or Little Rus.

• Belarus or white Rus, white meaning
    “unconquered”

• Velikorus or Great Rus.

• The term Russia does not appear until
    1580’s.

The Name “Ukraina”

• Ukraina -- means “Vicinity.”

• Term used to describe regions near various cities:
  Vicinity of Pereyaslavl, Pskov, Ryazan, etc.

• Term relates to cities on the western edge of what
  was to become Russia.

• Residents of current “western Ukraine” were
  referred to as “Galicians.”

• “The” Ukraine implies a territory, not a nation.

Claiming the heritage of Kievan
              Rus

• After the fall of Kiev, other city-states try to
  acquire Kiev’s heritage.

• Patriarch of Kiev moves first to Vladimir
  (1316), then to Moscow (1322)

• Fall of Byzantium makes Moscow “The
  Third Rome.”

• Kiev marginalized in Russian Empire.

THE THIRD ROME

“AND THERE SHALL BE NO OTHER”

Putin’s view

• The Russians in current Ukraine still see
  themselves as Russians.

• The “Galicians” are not Russians, and should not
  be ruling over the Russians.

• Western Ukrainians want to imitate Poland, not
  Russia i.e. threat of NATO.

• The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is still under the
  Moscow Patriarchate.

• Ukraine is still a “vicinity” of Russia and not a
  state.

Putin’s enemies

• FASCISTS. The Soviets never used the
  word “Nazi” since it contains the word
  “Socialist.”

• THE USA. The USA has humiliated Russia
  despite Russian overtures for cooperation
  and business development.

• WESTERN EUROPE. A weak follower of
  US policy.

Putin’s Tactics

• Slow Blitzkrieg -- Crimea (creep and awe).

• “Dry” Boat Diplomacy. Amassing troops.

• Reconnaissance in Force: Takeovers of buildings
  in Eastern Ukraine.

• Use of surrogates.

• All-out international propaganda

• Misinformation

• Control of Media

To paraphrase Woody Hayes:

• Three things happen
    when you invade and
    two of them are bad.

…Treated as liberators

…You lose

…You get mired in a
    stalemate for years

Putin’s Strategies

• Restore Russia as a global “player.”

• Foster “pride” in the Russian people. Rebuild
   Russian military.

• Outmaneuver the US on the world stage.

• Exert economic pressure on western Europe

through energy policies.

• Prevent Ukraine from joining NATO (short
   range)

• Wait for Ukraine to fail as a state (long range).

Pravda, June 7, 2014

• Russia opens additional Ukrainian refugee centers.

• Russian cafes remove “American” from names.

• Germany may revise partnership with US

• Kiev troops take Slovyansk

• Putin is well aware of threats US dictatorship poses to
  entire world.

• Urgent appeal: Messange from Slovyansk

• Washington War Crimes spread from Africa and Middle
  East to Ukraine.

• Ukraine dumps servicemen who left Crimea after
  referendum.

Pyotr Chaadaev

        • “We are an exception
          among people. We
          belong to those who
          are not an integral
          party of humanity, but
          exist only to teach the
          world some type of
          gret lesson”