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Russia’s New Revanchism is a Threat to Eastern Europe
Three decades have passed since the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and Russia is once more turning their focus towards their western border.
By William Bishop, 21 November, 2021
Image Credit: China Daily
The collapse of the Soviet Union was one of the major defining factors of the end of the 20th century and the ushering in of the 21st. The century-long battle between Monarchy, Liberal Democracy, Fascism, and Authoritarian Socialism had ended in a victory for liberal democracy that shaped much of the world. This was first seen with the free trade bloc built by the US following WWII in the western world, and in the eastern world following the Soviet collapse in the 1990s.
In the year 2000, the disastrous Yeltsin presidency came to a close and the ex-KGB head from the Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin, was elected president of the now Russian federation. Vladimir Putin was the last head of the Soviet KGB, and had been an ally of Yeltsin for a while.
Once popular opinion turned against Yeltsin after a series of blunders in the Chechen Wars and a crashing economy, however, he was able to secure power over Russia. In his three presidential terms since Yeltsin’s rule, Putin has been busy altering Russia’s course in the modern world. Russian arms exports have nearly doubled, and the Russian State has become increasingly aggressive in its posturing with interventions in its near vicinity and in the Middle East.
Ever since Putin’s election, Russia has begun to make aggressive overtures and adopt revanchist policy’s trying to reclaim influence or control over former Soviet areas. Such actions include holding on to the Kaliningrad zone that was historically more Lithuanian or Polish than Russian, the seizure of Crimea in 2014, and the funding of Russian separatist groups in the eastern Ukrainian oblasts of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv.
Oftentimes, separatist troops captured by Ukrainian forces have been found with weapons and other supplies whose origins can be traced directly to the Russian armed forces. Khudoteply/AFP/Getty Images
Further up north, Russian control is still not as strong as it used to be, but the situation in the region is startling in its travesty. The Belarusian Dictator Lukashenko is a known Russian puppet who has openly declared that Belarus exists to be a bulwark to defend Russia from the West. He even made Belarus join a “union state” with Russia, with the eventual goal of integrating Belarus into Russia.
What does this show?
Russia has long dominated the eastern side of Europe all the way back to the days of the Tsars, but the region has seen a unique scenario as of recent. Ukraine and Belarus, nations that have long been under the mantle of Russia, finally have a chance to establish their own destiny, one that is not Russian. But, the inaction of the west, and the refusal to allow Ukraine into the European Union, are fueling Russian revanchism in the region and giving them a new playground to exert their authority.
There is hope, though. Since the recent elections in Belarus, where Lukashenko won another obviously rigged election, the country has been in uproar. Constant rioting and general strikes have paralyzed the country before, and still continue to in some regards today, and the recent attempted poisoning of the primary opposition leader in Russia last year, Alexei Navalny, point to instability in the authoritarian dictatorships of Eastern Europe.
If we in the West begin to advocate defending these nations against the actions of Russia and its bootlickers, we can help them usher in a period of democracy unlike any other seen in their history.
How can we call ourselves a part, even the leaders of, the free world when we tolerate dictators who oppress and lord over their people like they are kings of yore? The wind is changing against regimes like Putin and Lukashenko, we must hear the cries for help and aid from our brothers in Eastern Europe in securing their democratic governance.