by Nomad
The collapse of the Soviet Union offered the Russian people an unprecedented chance at liberal democracy. Unfortunately, what has taken root in Russia was a strange mashup of its autocratic past.
In his book, Putin’s Wars : The Rise of Russia’s New Imperialism, Marcel H. Van Herpen examines the tragedy of Post-Soviet Russia. in particular its failure to seize the opportunity that destiny unexpectedly offered.
As a Dutch security expert and director of an independent European think tank, the Cicero Foundation, Van Herpen has spent a lot of time studying and analysing the Russian state and the men who run it.
One chapter entitled "Putin and the End of Russian “Empire Fatigue” offers a good jumping-off point for a little more scrutiny.
The Trauma and Promise of Christmas 1991
For a man like President Vladimir Putin, the fall of the Soviet Empire in 1991 was a tragedy of unimaginable proportions. His entire career- indeed all of his hopes- had depended on the continuation of the Soviet Union's rule. Putin had served 15 years as a foreign intelligence officer for the KGB with the rank of lieutenant colonel.
The shock was understandable. He wasn't alone. The entire world, after all, watched in profound amazement when, on Christmas Day 1991, the Soviet flag flew over the Kremlin in Moscow for the last time.
Until that time, the existence of the Empire had been one of the Cold War's immutable facts. We in the West had grown up believing that the Soviet Union was incapable of change and reform.
Its economy might be a wreck but it was not going anywhere. We were told for years- right up to the minute things turned to dust- to accept that a long and slow evolution and gradual enlightenment was the best that could be expected in the East bloc.
It was an evil empire that we had to live with.
It was an evil empire that we had to live with.
