The Great Russia
By Irene Moreno.
As well as the majority of the existing States which conform Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria, etc.); Russia, during its evolution period was altered territories due to the continuous wars, conquests or invasions; however, if I talk about Contemporary Russia I have to also discuss and focus on the success of the labor movement: The Bolshevik revolution.
It is necessary to explain the success of the Marxism-socialism movement, an ideology which originated in the heart of Europe (Great Britain, France and Germany) that has had many so long-lasting repercussions in the remote “Oriental Europe”.
To explain this, firstly I must talk about the Russian imperium situation in the beginning of the twenty century. Even though Russia was one of the greatest powers of the world, social conditions resembled as one social feudal blueprint where the minority of the population were the owner of greats fortunes, while the majority lived in miserable and shameful conditions. In this context existed the leading figure of tsar (who could be compared with absolute kings in the rest of Europe), where he had an authority without limits which impeded the minimum democratic development. This, mixed with the death of many Russian soldiers’ in the First World War, created a general displeasure and protest against czarism and in particular Nicolas II for being responsible for the disaster.
These protests were dissolved by the army, infuriating the working-class and causing the victory of “proletariat dictatorship” in October of 1917 under the leadership of Lenin, where the Russian imperium was called Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Economic planning measures carried out by Lenin and afterwards by Stalin fomented quick industrialization and the creation of a powerful army, it mixed with the crisis of thirty years in the capitalist countries (Wall Street Crash of 1929), did that soviet economic prototype strengthened and setting out as a solution for liberalist disaster.
After the Second World War, the various ideologies and the disputes of hegemony between United States and Soviet Union produced a period of general conflict among 1947-1991, known as Cold War. During these years, both States searched for alliance with others countries (NATO, EEC, COMECON, Marshall Plan, Warsaw Convention) and the effort to build the strongest army (army race) transforming the world in “Bipolar System” where it exited a balance of power between the two superpowers (USA vs. USSR).
A leading figure of this period in American diplomacy is George Kennan who, as Frank Costigliola said in his article “What would Kennan say to Obama?” published in the New York Times, “he was famous for predicting in 1947 that containment would lead to the eventual breakup of the Soviet Union”; in addition, he was the forefather of containment measures taken for United States against the Soviet Union. The containment measures were published in 1947 in the Foreign Affairs magazine; in the article entitled “The Sources of Soviet Conduct”. According to the Truman doctrine, the objective of these measures was to stop the expansion of Communism around the world. Finally, 1991-1995 saw the breakup of Communism and Soviet Union creating 15 new independent states.
This ensured that with the passing of time, Russia wanted to recover part of its lost territories, especially those lost to what they considered the “close foreigner” (Ukraine, Moldovan, Estonia, Belarus, etc.). Nowadays, the majority of countries which enclose the Black sea are in favor of “Western Europe”; hence, Russia has lost much landscape about them. It could be said that Russia feels again the “containment measures” in the territorial department and for similarity it is living the “second Cold War”.
As for these, the Ukraine conflict has not just only energetic character, but there is also a Territory conflict, as Russia searches for an exit to that Western “containment”. Russia Federation transgresses some principles of International Law in Ukraine, such as the intervention principle and no interference in internal matter of other states, in terms of territory or sovereignty. But this imperialist polity carried out for the Russian government should not surprise us; the eager Russian army had already invaded other countries such as Chechnya (1999) or Georgia (2008).
Nevertheless, in spite of this, the penalized measures carried out for the European Union and American States had been unsatisfactory and ridiculous; as Tom Wright described; “Tough sanctions will have some impact on Russia, but the idea of long-term global isolation is unrealistic” in the article entitled “US revives cold war and thinking on Russia” in the Financial Times magazine. It is due to economic interdependence between the different countries. However, as Kennan had already said during his life along with Reinhold Neibuhr, Unites States want to have the power as well as Russia.
