If Putin was an American politician, what would he be? He is conservative, deeply religious, a patriot, and strong partisan for Russian traditions.
Given this, I doubt we would have seen Putin strutting about on the DNC’s American Idol-esque stage, swearing his undying, almost cultic allegiance to Barak Obama. It’s more likely we would find him preparing to jet to St. Paul to rouse the base in support of McCain. For some, Putin’s Republican affinities are all too clear: Putin is a closet neocon and the his real intent of his interview with CNN was to cast a veiled vote for John McCain.
It is this last point that I find interesting. Mostly because the big question has been what Putin was thinking when he asserted that the US might be behind the Georgian War. Bad information? Kooky conspiracy thinking. An age old Russian paranoia? Or was he somehow trapped in the simulacra of his own state media machine where the lines between reality and virtual are erased? An affirmative to the last question wouldn’t surprise me. I’ve witnessed this discursive circle in Soviet archival documents. The central and local Soviet leadership often referenced the press in internal reports. When I do come across this phenomena, I always ask: Don’t they know that the media is controlled? They can’t actually think the press is some reflection of reality? If the documents are any answer, they do and continue to do so. And this belief is not as simple as them “believing their own bullshit.” That is clear. Nor is such a belief unique to Russia. The real question is how and why this happens My short answer is that Putin & Co. are locked in their own rhetoric. There is no outside discourse with enough truth value to break the logic of their dominant discourse. Their belief, rhetoric, and power to control the parameters of acceptable speech reinforces themselves in a dizzying circle signification.
Some, however, are suggesting there is something more sinister at work in Putin’s allegations. Namely, that it is the way that Putin meddles in American elections. This is the thesis of Ilya Milshtein’s article “Coercion to McCain” (Russian verison). As Milshtein writes,
One way or another, our national leader has “voted” for the republicans for at least four years already.
In the fall of 2004, the Russian president sternly spoke out against democrat John Kerry. Literally equating the liberal candidate to Al-Qaeda, Putin said that a defeat of Bush would be “a grandiose victory for international terrorism.” He repeated this thought he had grown fond of at the moment when America was counting the votes collected by the contenders. If George wins, Putin said, this would mean that “the American public did not allow itself to be frightened, and made a wise choice.”
As you know, the American public lived up to his expectation.
Was Putin’s assertion of American meddling in Georgia, though couched in “hypothesis” and “ifs” a similar gesture? Maybe.
Milshtein continues:
Every word here is worth its weight in gold, and each is clear as crystal.
It is hard to accept that Putin, one of the most informed people on the planet, doesn’t know something. And who could strive for “escalation” and win percents over it? Only McCain, which some of our political figures and experts have already spoken out about –as a rule, those who welcome the coming cold war epoch with a joyous song.
Now Putin has joined with them. Taking into account past experience, Vladimir Vladimirovich today acts from the opposite side. It’s as if, in Ukraine four years ago, he had recruited the local people into the ranks of the “Orangists” and twice congratulated Yushchenko with a glorious victory. He accuses the republicans of initiating the war in the Caucasus, knowing full well, that the majority of Americans won’t believe him. Instead, they’ll clearly adopt it: this unpleasant Russian is against our John. That’s why many of those who waver between McCain and Obama, will now vote for the republican candidate. Simply because Putin alluded to him with disapproval.
The time at hand is completely different, after all. It is a very cold time, forcing Americans, with a sigh, to remember the late Ronald Reagan, with his firmness in leading the operation which today can be called “coercion into perestroika.” It is exactly McCain who is conducting his electoral campaign with Reagan’s name on his lips.
In a word, just a couple more of these interviews on American TV channels, and our cunning premier will celebrate a victory with the republicans. Why they are so dear to him is uncertain. But one wants to believe, that coming into power, John McCain won’t forget the efforts of his Russian partner in the cold war, and will reward him with some kind of secret decoration.
The impact of Putin’s “vote” will be revealed in this week’s Republican National Convention. After all the Republican heat on Russia is going up. Dick Cheney was dispatched to Georgia to send Russia a message. Cindy McCain was sent to do some refugee PR. Some are already suggesting that Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin has national security experience just because her state, Alaska, is close to Russia. So maybe Russia will be something the Republicans bang on this week. We shall see.
To think I was half joking when I wrote, “If McCain wins in November he should send Medvedev and Putin a box of chocolates in gratitude.” Maybe I was on to something . . .
”She’s sexy. I’d love to give her a good spank on the ass and tell her ”get up those stairs”! in the finest Irish tradition.
You could have her up the stair if you are as sexy as she is. Otherwise you’ll need good life insurance”
Thats for sure. She’d take no prisoners. She is hot though, in a schoolteacher kind of sexy. She wouldnt handle the arse-spanking though I’d say as she’s one of these religious nuts. She’s not as hot though as the girl-cop who presents ”spakoino noche, malshii”! Russian women are a national treasure, it has to be said.
”PS. Poor Leonid Ilyich (aka Brezhnev). He had never got such sincere and such long applauses in his life…”
The cheer that went up when she mentioned ‘guns’ was deafening. I really found that very sad, and wonder how could so many people become so – I dunno – frightened-or what? – that they felt the need to raciously support the right for one to have deadly weapons.
Would you take your 5 months old baby to the football game or rock concert? This is what she did with her baby – took her to convention (as well as her small daughter) in the center of loud crazy crowd.
And then she called herself “proud mother”.
PS. looks to me that her husband learned this “take-no-prisoners” rule
”Would you take your 5 months old baby to the football game or rock concert? This is what she did with her baby – took her to convention (as well as her small daughter) in the center of loud crazy crowd.
And then she called herself “proud mother”.”
I didnt notice that, but I’m not suprised you did ivanov. To their credit, Russians are extraordinarily careful with children and its no coincidence you copped that one quickly. That was clearly a cheap vote-getting exercise, turning up with an infant at something like that. Its really pathetic actually.
”PS. looks to me that her husband learned this “take-no-prisoners” rule”
Yes. He’s totally whipped I’d say. You can see it in her eyes actually, she’d bury anyone who got in her way.
Tim,
Thanks for the explanation. I didn’t mean to say that Sarah was using Putin’s methods, but rather needed help to understand what Putin’s methods she didn’t use.
P.S. Sarah Palin is a lady, Putin is a cockroach and ‘ivanov’ is a fool.
Sigh. You guys get my blood pressure all up and such with your comments about Palin, making me want to waste all of Sean’s bandwidth to refute them. Then I remember by audience and realize it’s all futile.
I will say this, for those that may not be aware, the God and guns comment was in response to a comment Obama made to a group in San Francisco a few months back that basically said people in small towns cling to God and guns because they are frustrated. As someone from said demographic, it’s not about frustration, is about what makes life at least somewhat fulfilling, even if it is all false consciousness or what not.
I won’t even touch the God thing, but firearms are the most fun gadgets devised by man. Those who don’t like them think it’s all about the violence but are missing the big picture. It’s about the wonder of physics, and the mental discipline it takes to make a little bit of lead hit a target some distance away. The fact that they are also good for dealing with bad people, thereby relieving one of their dependence on the state, is just gravy. I think one of the reasons firearm ownership is more valued in the US is due to the fact that Americans generally have enough disposable income to make firearms a hobby instead of simply tools. And believe me, it takes a fair amount of money to feed these things, especially now with the cost of copper and lead.
Chris, now that I think of it, I think I was sort of mixing up my terms between collectivism and nationalization. I was thinking of Stalin’s first 5-year plan, which should have been called nationalization of agriculture. If discussing nationalization, then it is my understanding that it never really was all that successful in the USSR with respect to agriculture like it was with industry. This all means that we might possibly agree about something, which is really quite discomforting when you think about it.
“If discussing nationalization, then it is my understanding that it never really was all that successful in the USSR with respect to agriculture like it was with industry. This all means that we might possibly agree about something, which is really quite discomforting when you think about it.”
NOOO! The center does not hold! Time is out of joint! There is a great disturbance in the Force!!!
IIRC about half of agriculture in the late USSR was private (small-scale farming). Collectivized agriculture doesn’t seem to work very well historically speaking.
Palin is the gypsy lady who sits her children on the steps of the train station and teaches them to put their hands out and into others pockets.
Palin is Mao ‘ s Dragon Lady that spurs the uneducated from the fields to run to the city and burn the books and attempt to humiliate the professors.
Are your comparing the governor of Alaska (and village mayor) with the Governor of Russia?
I was asked to contrast what Palin did with what Putin did, not idly speculate about what Palin might do given the power which Putin wields.
I don’t really know the record here, but I suspect you would find things greatly improved in this respect from the Yeltsin period.
I wasn’t running a business in the Yeltsin period, so I don’t know the record either. But I do know that the way in which the tax laws are changed here and applied retrospectively only to certain companies is akin to a banana republic and not a supposedly economically mature country.
I wasn’t running a business in the Yeltsin period.
Obviously, since you are still alive or not in jail.
They are also good for dealing with good people…btw
I was. But I’m alive and free. But I would be fool to say it was good time. Well it was good for Khodorkovsky…