tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122789.post115322875622582766..comments2023-10-26T12:09:39.176+03:00Comments on Ruminations on Russia: European Tribune - Temper tantrumUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5122789.post-1153439671595968972006-07-21T03:54:00.000+04:002006-07-21T03:54:00.000+04:00It is interesting the number of op-eds one reads t...It is interesting the number of op-eds one reads that suggest Russia is either a paper tiger or fast approaching doom. Or both.<BR/><BR/>A quote from the op-ed: "In short, Russia has none of the attributes of a 21st-century superpower. In poker terms, the country's oil and gas reserves give the Russian leader a hand equivalent to, say, a pair of sevens. But Mr Putin knows how to bluff"<BR/><BR/>These op-eds appear to be written to a template. A recent piece by Peter Ziehan - <A HREF="http://www.defesanet.com.br/russia/stratfor.htm" REL="nofollow">"Russia, Where Now"</A> is a model of the genre.<BR/><BR/>Such articles begin by listing Russia's insurmountable ills. These may include such disparate things as Siberia melting, Muslims breeding faster than ethnic Russians or a declining interest in chess.<BR/><BR/>The 'analysis' then finds a common factor which has prolonged all these ills. It used to be communism, but now writers are having to be more inventive. Peter Ziehan has decided it's 'The Andropov Doctrine'.<BR/><BR/>The conclusion is always the same. The only salvation for Russia is to embrace Western banks and hand over its consumers, assets and what have you. Regime change would be nice too. But . . . "President (insert current President's name) just doesn't get it."<BR/><BR/>As you note, such articles now routinely contain nostalgia for the Yeltsin years. Ziehan writes about 'the idealism of the group . . . in the early 1990s'.<BR/><BR/>This piece was very widely syndicated on the net and I wonder what Russians make of it. Particularly the '25 years of the Andropov Doctrine'. My Russian history is fuzzy, but I'm sure the guy was hardly around long enough to formulate a doctrine.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com