Russia is pregnant with a nationalist revolution - either from the top down or from the bottom up!
Fayaz Bahraman Najimi, international affairs expert, member of the Sangar Advisory Board
Vladimir Putin was Yeltsin's chosen one and part of the Russian oligarchic system. He had not had a clear political thought and political philosophy for a long time.
In the recent past, he has been trying to define himself as somewhat conservative in politics and neo-liberal in economics. He was an opponent of revolutionary actions for the benefit of reforms.
On the one hand, he had a penchant for nationalism, and on the other hand, he constantly tried to show himself as an obedient and loyal figure to the West. For him, the economic model of the West has always been a model. He tried many times to make his country a member of the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO).
Of course, there is a lot of talk about how he had plans to restore the power of Russia, but not only did he not have a clear plan, but he also faced a lack of determination.
Putin was not anti-Western by nature. Most of his actions were instinctive, starting with the nationalist dimension. Throughout his time at the helm of Russia's leadership, he has worked seamlessly with the liberal team and consistently removed leading anti-Western experts in economic, diplomatic, and military affairs from the system. Some of his team were abusers and sycophants who repeatedly lied to him, including throughout the military structure.
Putin is sometimes compared to Stalin as the man who led Russia toward modernization. Such a comparison is nothing more than a big mistake.
Stalin was a man with a mixed ideology of Russian libertarianism, that is, a combination of nationalism, socialism, and Russian Orthodoxy plus Marxism under the name of Marxism-Leninism. In the ten years between 1930 and 1940, he traveled more than a century of European industrialization and economic growth. Even after the Second World War, within 3 years, until 1948, he brought the economic growth of Russia to the level of 1941, and in 1953 he doubled the economy and turned his country into the second power in the world economy. Something unprecedented in human history.
But Putin got a country that had enough personnel from the Soviet era. A large economic sector was also available. But in 20 years he failed to turn Russia into an attractive economic geography. Energy resources and semi-industrial materials made up a large part of the Russian economy. Even its military-industrial complex was not like either the Soviet era, the USA, or even France.
In this situation, he went to confront the West, but a confrontation with the West by Western means would lead to his inevitable defeat because Stalin's confrontation with the West was caused by his ideological positions as an anti-capitalist alternative. For the past two or three years, Putin has been superficially critical of Western capitalism, but his country has followed the same path.
Two instincts carry the Putin consciousness from the Soviet era: one is anti-Westernism influenced by the Soviet era, and the other is anti-capitalism without a clear idea of it.
The problem of Putin's anti-Westernism is rooted in Russian history, which is the explanation for Russian nationalism. It is no coincidence that in the West he is portrayed as a Russian nationalist.
Putin, with characteristics that are most opportunistic, wanted to single-handedly launch a surgical operation of geopolitical relations in the world, culminating in the war in Ukraine. Now there is no doubt that the West has set a big trap for his ambitions in Ukraine.
The West, through its powerful fifth column in the Kremlin and at all levels throughout Russia, knows full well that it must do away with Putin and his vision of a Greater Russia in line with Brzezinski's strategies.
The war in Ukraine is following exactly the same scenario as Saddam Hussein's war in Kuwait. However, with one difference, in Iraq, the US and its allies attacked directly, while in Ukraine they continue a proxy war for some time, which sooner or later leads to their direct attack. Until now, the West has known perfectly well that Putin does not want to go to war and constantly wants to make deals with the US and the West.
But when war breaks out, ideologies die and only nationalism grows.
In Russia, Putin unleashed a war, but at the same time unleashed the genie of Russian nationalism from the bottle. Now Russia is rapidly moving towards nationalism. Day by day, Putin is transforming from a powerful figure into a nationalist wish-maker. The question of the life and death of Russia is in the hands of the military, which crystallized in the person of General Surovikin.
Russian militarism and revanchism are becoming day by day the public discourse in Russia. Putin will either have to act decisively both inside and outside the country, or he will give way to nationalist militarists, especially since Xi Jinping's victory in China will have a serious impact on the political turn of Russians back to Stalinist theories.
Russia is pregnant with a nationalist revolution - either from the top down or from the bottom up!
