Russia

The Simplicity of Turning Black into White (And Vice Versa)

The confrontation between Russia and the Western world seems not to be on the path to de-escalation. Russia’s rhetoric and behavior has increased anxieties and posed serious question marks in Europe, North America, and beyond. Some Western politicians and political analysts tend to believe that this is – once again – just a temporary turbulence, and that soon enough we’ll enjoy more or less blue skies. Others argue that Russia will not be a true partner of the West – if it ever was – for a very long time, because Russian-Western contradictions are much deeper than mere disagreements over conflicting political or business interests. The Russian mainstream mindset appears now to be more distant from, and antagonistic to the values and ideals of the transatlantic community than it has ever been before. Therefore, in assessing the likely effectiveness at deescalating the present situation of certain political and economic agreements with Russia, one should clearly bear in mind that Putinism has created a new reality in Russia that is vastly incompatible with ours. President Putin’s main political goals seem to be not only to “fight American hegemony,” but also to undermine the very foundations of Western liberal democracy.