Miodrag Soric of DW thinks that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s account in the Kremlin does not quite fit the front.Vladimir Putin’s time is running out. What victory will he be able to show his supporters at the traditional military parade on May 9? Ukrainians are resisting the Russian aggressors, fiercely defending their homeland and their families.
The situation is different for the Russians: The whole world is witnessing their morale hitting rock bottom. 18-19 year old Russian soldiers do not want to fight. They do not encounter a fascist regime in Ukraine, or a Russian minority that wants to be liberated. Russian soldiers are not greeted with flowers, but with resistance and protests. Russians in Ukraine lead a much freer life than Russia, where fear reigns, the media lies, and every contradiction is suppressed.
Greetings from Prince Potemkin
The military left Putin in the middle. Now its propagandists will have to invent a non-parade victory and announce it on state-controlled television. This ceremony has a long tradition. After all, Russia is the hometown of the legendary Prince Potemkin.
With each passing day in the shadow of the war, the situation in Russia is getting more bleak and the number of killed soldiers is constantly increasing. At the same time, carefree life continues in restaurants, cafes and bars in Moscow; Drinking vodka and dancing. In other words, the collective schizophrenia that constitutes the ‘homo sovieticus’ still exists: this ramshackle system lives and survives on lies, the fear of the secret service, the shame of its own cowardice.
Even today, many Russians close their eyes, do not want to accept the facts, and ignore the crimes committed in their own name. If one day the fact that their Ukrainian brothers were murdered becomes undeniable, then they will try to get away with claiming that they know nothing and cannot be held responsible, as they did after 1991.
Putin’s dubious achievements!
For his political survival, Putin was left with no choice but to increasingly isolate and polarize his country. As a matter of fact, the threat of nuclear weapons made out of gold is an indication of this desperation. It seems that it will not be able to make any further progress with conventional weapons. In this process, Putin unintentionally achieved something important: The West took a step that normally would never have been possible and started to get rid of Russia’s dependence on raw materials.
Another unintentional success of Putin was to get most of the Germans, who were generally against violence, now support toughness against the Russian aggressor. German society is ready to make sacrifices for Ukraine to win the war. This increased the pressure on German politicians, who until now had been hesitant to supply heavy weapons to Kiev. In addition, billions of euros have been allocated by the coalition government to equip the German Army with modern weapons and equipment.
A breath of fresh air for NATO
In short, Germany, which normally takes things slowly, revealed a change that it had not shown for decades in a few weeks. He recalled some of the traits that were once his strongest virtues: the ability to organize, hard work, and self-sacrifice. A similar situation occurs in other countries: Finland and Sweden have suddenly become eager for NATO membership, which they have been keeping their distance from until now. Even pacifist Japan began to arm itself after the Ukraine war. Looking at these developments, Putin is actually doing a great job!
Now, a new breath has come to NATO, which was called dead. The United States (USA) wants to transfer more than $30 billion to Ukraine to strengthen its defense. The European Union (EU) will follow the same path. Thanks to Putin, Western arms dealers’ order books are almost as full as they were during the Cold War.
Despite all these developments, it will not be possible for the West to gain a quick success against Russia. On the contrary: NATO predicts that the conflict will continue for many years to come. Because Moscow should never again be strong enough to invade other countries. It should pay for the reconstruction of Ukraine, withdraw its troops from Georgia and Moldova and leave Belarus. In the 1980s, the economically superior West had Moscow arming itself to death. History repeats itself now. But with one important difference: Russia today is weaker than the USSR at that time. Today’s West is bigger, more solid and stronger than ever before.
No one can object to Putin
So how did it get to this point? Against Putin, there is no one who can object to him. Even Stalin was smarter. The Politburo feared him, but still some warned him when he was wrong. Stalin’s feet were grounded, he always preferred a modest life. Putin, on the other hand, loves the luxurious life in palaces and yachts. Stalin was cautious. Putin is a gambler. He does not understand the modern world. He can’t use the internet alone, or even send e-mails without help. Tsar IV in every way. (Terrible) He looks like Ivan. In the 16th century, Russia was constantly engaged in wars with small countries and was stuck in the “era of turmoil”.
So how long will the current war last? It will continue as long as the Ukrainians do not stop defending their homeland. Moreover, support from the West has only just begun.
Miodrag Soric