Why Russia is Scared

Today President Bush has issued his strongest invective against the neo-Soviet government of Vladimir Putin. I say Vladimir Putin, instead of the elected Russian president Mendedev since Mr. Putin is still the real power behind the throne. 

Until I read this article in the NY Times this morning, I had failed to grasp the whole scope of this situation. If you've been following the Russo-American Alliance for some time you are no doubt aware that there have been fierce disagreements. One of them being the missile defense system that the Bush administration has been wanting to implement in Eastern Europe, in countries that used to be in the Soviet Bloc. 

NATO has annexed many former Eastern Bloc countries including Romania, and Latvia (don't quote me on this since they receive scant attention in the news, but several countries have been added near the borders of Mother Russia). 

If you look at Vlad, you see a man who was, at best, unremarkable. He was a paper pusher, a spy and a small man given a big job and too much power. A man, we have discovered who thinks more of his own power and potential than may actually be the case. Much like the little Austrian courier who cursed the end of World War I and started the next one. A continuation, a way to prove not only the might of his country but also his own power.  Both have less-than-naked ambition, and both rose to power after cultivating powerful contacts. Once there, they greatly increased the power of their own parties (and by extension themselves) and silenced whoever and whatever vocalized opposition. Since 2001 Putin's government has shut down Russia's semi-liberal (critical of the government you must understand) TV station. The liberal free-lance magazine that spoke out on certain of Mr. Putin's policies was also silenced. 

Now I truly understand that the historical implications are grave. This is a shadow of the 1930's Europe. A consequence of the end of a Great War, that was renamed Cold, and the bid to rebuild a once "mighty" empire. Russians, like their German brethren of the 1920's, have faced food lines, a devalued currency, and loss of their military prestige. Unlike Wiemar Germany however, Russia was able to maintain her army and her arms. And now we have seen the charismatic leader who is an ambiguous threat. 

If Mr. Bush did see MR. Putin's soul in their first meeting back in 2001, I wonder if he saw the devil, or the impending darkness. And, while I am more than hesitant to begin a new war in the midst of 2 failing ones, I would rather uphold democracy than live with a new holocaust on my conscience.