Putin is the new Hitler, but what and who will defeat him, Ehrnrooth ponders in his column.
Jari Ehrnrooth, docent of sociology and cultural history
Like a bad dream that wasn’t a dream. The invasion of Putin’s neo-fascist Russia in Ukraine continues for the third year, and life in Europe has become oppressive.
Common topics of discussion among the people are when and where Putin will attack next, where and what kind of criminal hybrid operation Russian agents will set out to carry out next, which vital cable or pipe the Kremlin’s thugs are about to cut.
No, this definitely cannot be the new normal and we should not get used to this.
Life in the free Western countries that Putin has defined as his enemies does not become safe because the Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg does not believe in the outbreak of war between NATO and Russia in the next few years.
What must be done?
When Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Ben Zyskowicz asked in parliament whether Putin is the new Hitler or the new Stalin.
Ten years have passed and I think we’ve got the answer, but we’re still not working as we should.
I feel that so many people in the West believe in vain hopes and postpone the unpleasant conclusion as psychological rejection and evasion of responsibility.
Maybe psychological defense mechanisms just prevent us from becoming awarethat the nightmare will only end when the Kremlin tyrant is defeated and the evil empire disintegrates.
Kari Enqvist says, as I see it correctly, that Russia needs to be thoroughly squashed before it stops threatening other nations. The Russian leadership and the Russians must be taught hand in hand that they do not have a special position in world history. They must obey the same laws and rules as other nations.
In international security, the role of free citizens and independent intellectuals is irreplaceable. Unlike experts, politicians and diplomats, we do not have to defend ideas, interests, schools of thought or state treaties. We can freely say what we believe to be true.
I argue that the free nations of the West want a world without Russian imperialism. But how?
I see three possibilities.
Russia could change internally and become a democratic republic, where the freedoms and rights of individuals are protected by a liberal constitution and a strong rule of law. This ideal alternative is only a hopeful utopia. There is support for it in Russia’s narrow opposition circles, but a Ukrainian-style popular uprising is not expected.
There is another possibility Russia’s military, economic and political collapse as a result of the perceived defeats in Ukraine. Unfortunately, this too is unfounded optimism.
Russian military forces are waging a monstrous war of attrition against the Orthodox Church in Ukraine to sanctify with the support of a blood sacrifice. The attacker has moved into the war economy and produces artillery ammunition almost three times more like the US and Europe. Putin’s political circle of power is holding its ground, and in its place is coming, at most, worse cruelty.
I feel that so many people in the West believe in vain hopes and postpone the unpleasant conclusion as psychological rejection and evasion of responsibility.
This unfortunate conclusion is the third and, as far as I can see, the only real possibility: The disintegration of Russia. The 20th century broke up the world powers led from Berlin, Vienna, Paris and London, but the one led from Moscow came out victorious. Now it must be dismantled.
This is a harsh conclusion, but what else could be a sustainable solution?
Russia is by far the largest country in the world, more than China and the United States combined. Still, the leaders of the Kremlin have each in turn wanted more territories for themselves. Russia has no borders, as Putin has said, referring to his mentor, the philosopher Ivan Ilyin.
The empire led by warlike autocrats that started in Ivana Julma and continued for five hundred years is an ancient relic that exalted itself above other nations, which not fit for this world.
History has set the task, but not yet its creator. Our time has to appear from somewhere Winston Churchillwhich resolutely destroys Russian neo-fascism.
Jari Ehrnrooth
The author is a writer, docent of cultural history and sociology at the universities of Helsinki, Turku and Lapland. While playing the piano, he loves haunting Russian tunes. Feedback to the author can also be sent directly to [email protected]