As people who are the product of Western rhetoric and media, it is difficult for us to see the world through a non-Western lens. Russia has existed for the past 25 years as only a shadow of its former self, having lost its ideological empire and much of its ability to exert power abroad. This is an exit from the powerful stature that Russia has held since the late 1930s and has left the country confused as to what it means to be Russian. This idea of the new Russian identity is important to consider when analyzing the current conflict between Russia and the Ukraine.
As the Ukrainian crisis continues to develop, Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly become the target of international criticism. This criticism is certainly warranted, the Putin administration having violated Ukrainian national sovereignty through the annexation of Crimea and through its direct support of Ukrainian separatists in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Although sanctions and NATO action should continue and are validated given the numerous international treatises and mandates that this administration has broken, I would venture to say Putin is still one of the most dynamic and strategic leaders since the breakdown of the Soviet Bloc.
This may seem like a controversial view when looking at the Kremlin’s many provocations towards Western nations over the past few years, Putin having also bolstered the Assad regime in Syria and furthered a civil war in which 200,000 people have already died.
After all of these missteps and acts worthy of imprisonment, why does a man who does everything wrong by Western standards continue to be seen as the champion of Russia?
While the Russian economy and international standing have both taken large hits due to the invasion of Ukraine, polls have shown that Putin’s approval rating is hovering just above 80 percent, about 15-20 percentage points higher than before the conflict began.
Putin represents a revitalized Russia at the cost of some freedoms and liberties. State censorship, human rights abuses and militaristic police abuses have been at the forefront of Western media in past years, but President Putin’s poll numbers still rise.
It may be an innate quality of Russian people that attracts them to the idea that Russia is still destined for greatness, no matter the time period of geopolitical situation. It could also be that remnants of the Soviet mindset that held the Russian people captive for over 70 years have been reintroduced through the Ukrainian conflict, stirring up past images of former global dominance and emotionally validating many of the actions the Putin administration has carried out.
A good leader protects his own no matter what, and although the repercussions of Russia’s actions in Syria, Ukraine and elsewhere have been negative overall, everything the Putin administration has done has been for the revitalization of Russia, at least in the eyes of the Kremlin. The annexation of resource-heavy Crimea was a move to gain territory and proclaim dominance while the buildup of natural gas reserves has left much of Europe at the mercy of Russian gas exports and prices.
Every move Putin makes is strategic. Whether we understand or agree with this strategy is irrelevant when looking at Russia with a survival-of-the-fittest mentality. One thing is for certain, although Russia has already been the focus of much controversy in recent years, the Kremlin will continue to throw curveballs at the international community as long as its present administration retains power.
Alex Borst is a sophomore international studies major from Madison.
