The view from the Kremlin

Putins war on the West

As Ukraine suffers, it is time to recognise the gravity of the Russian threatand to
counter it
Feb 14th 2015 |

1 HE IS ridiculed for his mendacity* and ostracised by his

peers. He presides over a free-falling currency and a
rapidly shrinking economy. International sanctions stop his
kleptocratic friends from holidaying in their ill-gotten
Mediterranean villas. Judged against the objectives
Vladimir Putin purported to set on inheriting Russias
presidency 15 years agoprosperity, the rule of law,
westward integrationregarding him as a success might seem bleakly comical.
2
But those are no longer his goals, if they ever really were. Look at the world
from his perspective, and Mr Putin is winning. For all his enemies machinations, he
remains the Kremlins undisputed master. He has a throttlehold on Ukraine, a grip
this weeks brittle agreement in Minsk has not eased. Domesticating Ukraine through
his routine tactics of threats and bribery was his first preference, but the invasion has
had side benefits. It has demonstrated the costs of insubordination to Russians; and,
since he thinks Ukraines government is merely a puppet of the West (the supposed
will of its people being, to his ultracynical mind, merely a cover for Western intrigues),
the conflict has usefully shown who is boss in Russias backyard. Best of all, it has
sown discord among Mr Putins adversaries: among Europeans, and between them
and America.
3
His overarching* aim is to divide and neuter that alliance, fracture its collective
approach to security, and resist and roll back its advances. From his tantrums* over the
Middle East to his invasion of Georgia and multiple misadventures in Ukraine, Mr Putin
has sometimes seemed to stumble into accidental disputes with the West, driven by a
paranoid fear of encirclement. In hindsight it seems that, given his outlook,
confrontation may have been inevitable. Either way, the contest he insists on can no
longer be dodged. It did not begin in poor Ukraine and will not end there. Prevailing
will require far more resolve than Western leaders have so far mustered*.
What the Kremlin wants
4
Last year Mr Putin lopped off Crimea, redrawing Europes map by force. The war
he hallucinated into reality in eastern Ukraine has killed thousands. Even if the
ceasefire scheduled for February 15th holds (unlikely, on past form), he seems certain
to get what he wants there: a wretched little quasi-state in the Donbas, which he can
use to stall* and warp* Ukraines development. Yet these incursions are only his latest
bid to bludgeon former Soviet states into submission, whether through energy
blackmail, trade embargoes or war. For Mr Putin the only good neighbour is a weak
one; vassals are better than allies. Only the wilfully blind would think his revanchism
has been sated*. Sooner or later it may encompass the Baltic states members of
both the European Union and NATO, and home to Russian minorities of the kind he
pledges to protect.

5
The EU and NATO are Mr Putins ultimate targets. To him, Western institutions
and values are more threatening than armies. He wants to halt their spread, corrode
them from within and, at least on the Wests fragile periphery, supplant them with his
own model of governance. In that model, nation-states trump alliances, states are
dominated by elites, and those elites can be bought. Here, too, he has enjoyed some
success. From France to Greece to Hungary he is cultivating parties on Europes far
right and left: anyone who might lobby for Russian interests in the EU, or even help to
prise** the union apart. The biggest target is NATOs commitment to mutual selfdefence. Discredit that by, for example, staging a pro-Russian uprising in Estonia or
Latvia, which other NATO members decline to help quell and the alliance crumbles.
6
Mr Putins stranglehold on his own country means he has time and freedom for
this campaign. As he has amply demonstrated, he has no qualms about sacrificing
Russians well-being to satisfy his coteries greed or to further his geopolitical
schemes. He persecutes those who protest. And in the echo chamber* his propaganda
creates, the nationalism he peddles as a consolation for domestic woes is flourishing.
What is to be done?
7
The first task for the West is to recognise the problem. Barack Obama has
blithely regarded Russia as an awkward regional power, prone to post-imperial
spasms but essentially declining. Historians will be amazed that, with Ukraine aflame,
the West was still debating whether to eject Russia from the G8. To paraphrase
Trotsky, Western leaders may not have been interested in Mr Putin, but Mr Putin was
interested in them.
8
The next step is to craft a response as supple as the onslaught. Part of the
trouble is that Mr Putin plays by different rules; indeed, for him, there are no
inviolable rules, nor universal values, nor even cast-iron facts (such as who shot down
flight MH17). There are only interests. His Russia has graduated from harassing
ambassadors and assassinating critics to invasions. This is one of his assets: a
readiness to stoop to methods the West cannot emulate without sullying* itself.
9
The current version of this quandary* is whether, if the latest ceasefire fails, to
arm Ukraine. Proponents think defensive weapons would inflict a cost on Mr Putin for
fighting on. But anyone who doubts his tolerance of mass casualties should recall his
war in Chechnya. If arms really are to deter him, the West must be united and ready
to match his inevitable escalation with still more powerful weapons (along, eventually,
with personnel to operate them). Yet the alliance is split over the idea. Mr Putin
portrays the war as a Western provocation: arming Ukraine would turn that from
fantasy to something like fact, while letting him expose the limits of Western unity and
its lack of resolveprizes he cherishes. If fresh Russian aggression galvanises the
alliance, arming Ukraine will become a more potent threat. Until that point, it would
backfire.
10
A better strategy is to eschew his methods and rely on an asset that he, in turn,
cannot match: a way of life that people covet*. If that seems wishy-washy beside his
tanks, remember that the crisis began with Ukrainians desire to tilt towards the EU
and Mr Putins determination to stop them. Better than arms, the West must

urgently give Ukraine as much aid as it needs to build a state and realise that dream
(and as much advice as it takes to ensure the cash is not misspent or stolen). The IMF
deal announced on February 12th should be only a start. Mr Putin wants Ukraine to be
a lesson in the perils of leaning West. It should instead be an exemplar of the rewards.
11
Just as urgently, those former Soviet countries that have joined Western
institutions must be buttressed* and reassured. If the case for sending arms to the
Donbas is doubtful, that for basing NATO troops in the Baltics is overwhelming,
however loudly Mr Putin squeals. Western leaders must make it clear, to him and their
own people, that they will defend their allies, and the alliance even if the struggle is
covert* and murky.
12
And it isnt only its allies who appreciate the Wests virtues. So do many
Russians, including shameless Putinists who denounce the Wests decadence but
exploit its schools and stock markets. It is long past time for every Russian
parliamentarian and senior official to join the sanctions list. Far from being relaxed as,
after Minsk, fellow-travellers may suggest, sanctions must be tightened and
sanctions-busting curtailed. In the end, they will prove a stronger lever than weapons.
13
At the same time, the West should use every available means to help ordinary
Russians, including Russian-sympathisers in the Baltics and Ukraine, learn the bloody,
venal truth about Mr Putin. It should let them know that Russia, a great nation
dragged down a terrible path, will be embraced when it has rulers who treat the world,
and their own people, with respect not contempt, however long that takes.
*

VOCABULARY:

gravity = grave consequence; seriousness or importance (They are still quite unaware of the ~ of their problems.)
1mendacity* = the act of not telling the truth synonym lying (politicians accused of hypocrisy and ~);
1ill-gotten = dishonestly obtained (He deposited his ~ gains in foreign bank accounts.);
1purported [ppo:tid] = assumed to be such; alleged; supposed (a ~ two million dollar deal; no evidence of their ~ wealth);
2throttlehold, stranglehold = an illegal wrestling hold by which an opponent's breath is choked off; any force or influence that
restricts free actions or development (The company now had a ~ on the market.);
3overarch* = be central or dominant; be larger in number, quantity, power, status or importance; including or influencing every
part of sth (~ing goals; ~ing problems);
3tantrum* = (often plural) a childish fit of rage; a violent demonstration of rage or frustration; a sudden burst of ill temper.
3dodge = avoid or attempt to avoid (a blow, discovery, etc), as by moving suddenly; evade (questions, etc) by cleverness or
trickery (kept dodging the reporter's questions); a cunning or deceitful act intended to evade something or trick someone (a
tax ~);
3resolve = sth determined or decided (he had made a ~ to work all day.); firmness of purpose, determination (Nothing can break
his ~.);
3muster* = produce or encourage sth such as an emotion or support (The team will need all the strength they can ~ to win this
game. Opponents are unlikely to be able to ~ enough votes to override the veto.); /esp. of soldiers/ come together, esp. in
preparation for fighting (The twelfth division ~ed on the hill. The general ~ed his troops.);
4stall* = employ delaying tactics towards (someone);
4warp* = twist or cause to twist out of shape, as from heat, damp, etc. (Left in the garage where it was damp, the wooden frame
had ~ed. If I put the shelves near the radiator, the heat might ~ them.); turn from a true, correct, or proper course; make a
person or their behaviour strange, in an unpleasant or harmful way (Prison ~s people.)
4revanchism = the action taken and the policies followed by a government determined to recover a lost territory;
4sate* = satisfy (an appetite or desire) fully; fill to excess;
5quell = put down forcibly; suppress (Police ~ed the riot.); pacify, quiet (finally ~ed the peoples fears.);

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6qualm* = /usually plural/ (about sth) a feeling of doubt or worry about whether what you are doing is right (He had been working very
hard so he had no ~s about taking a few days off. She left her husband and children without a ~.);
6coterie* = a small group of people with shared interests who often do things together, but one that does not want other people to
join them (her little ~ of friends and advisers; a literary ~. He surrounded himself with an elite ~ of political advisors.);
6echo chamber* = a room with walls that reflect sound for broadcasting or recording echoes or hollow sound effects; a group of
bloggers that repeat and reinforce each others opinions;
6peddle = travel about selling (wares) (peddling goods from door to door); spread an idea or story in order to get people to accept
it (~ malicious gossip. This line [= publicly stated opinion] is being ~d by all the government spokesmen.);
7blithe* = carefree and light-hearted; lacking or showing a lack of due concern (spoke with ~ ignorance of the true situation);
7be prone to sth/to do sth = tending (This stretch of road is ~ to foggy patches. He is rather ~ to
making tactless remarks.); likely to suffer from an illness or show a particular negative characteristic
(I've always been ~ to headaches. He was ~ to depression even as a teenager. She's ~ to
exaggerate, that's for sure.);

8supple* = bending or able to be bent easily; not stiff (I'm not supple enough [= my body doesn't bend easily enough] to touch the
floor.); /literary/ able to change quickly and successfully to suit different conditions (She has shown that she has a ~ mind. We
need a more ~ monetary policy.);
8stoop = bend the top half of the body forward and down (The doorway was so low that we had to ~ to go through it. Something
fell out of her coat pocket and she ~ed down and picked it up.);
stoop to sth = lower your moral standards by doing something that is unpleasant, dishonest, or unfair (I don't believe she would
ever ~ to bribery or blackmail. He was amazed that a reputable firm would ~ to selling the names of their clients to other
companies.);
8emulate = copy sth achieved by someone else and try to do it as well as they have (They hope to ~ the success of other software
companies.);
8sully** = spoil something that is pure or someone's perfect reputation (His reputation, he said, had been unfairly sullied by halftruths.); make something dirty (No speck of dirt had ever sullied his hands.);
9quandary* = a state of uncertainty or perplexity
10eschew = avoid something intentionally, or to give sth up (We won't have discussions with this group unless they ~ violence. He
had ~ed politics in favour of a life practising law );
10wishy-washy = irresolute or indecisive (a ~ supervisor who can't decide what to do.); lacking in purpose; weak or ineffective (a
~ response to the criticism.);
10tilt sth/sb (in favour of/away from sth/sb) = make sth/sb change slightly so that one particular opinion, person, etc. is preferred or more
likely to succeed than another (The conditions may ~ the balance in favour of the Kenyan runners. Popular opinion has ~ed in
favour of the socialists.);
.

11covert = hidden or secret (The government was accused of ~military operations against the regime.);
11murky = dark and dirty or difficult to see through (The river was brown and ~ after the storm.); is used to describe a situation
that is complicated and unpleasant, and about which many facts are not clear (He became involved in the ~ world of
international drug-dealing. I don't want to get into the ~ waters of family arguments.);
13venal* = a venal person is willing to behave in a way that is not honest or moral in exchange for money (a ~ ruler); a venal
activity is done in order to get money (a ~ regime; They are accused of being involved in ~ practices.);
*

Translate into English:

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, bval generln tajemnk Severoatlantick aliance, napsal nedvno v listu The Daily Telegraph lnek o tom, e Putin
m nebezpen ambice sahajc za Ukrajinu. Chce pr vyzkouet rozhodnost a pipravenost Zpadu v Pobalt. Skutenm clem Moskvy je
naruit jednotu a solidaritu NATO a obnovit nadvldu Ruska ve vchodn Evrop. Putin by pr mohl provst hybridn tok tak na nkter z
pobaltskch stt.
Pstup Vladimira Putina je nesmrn riskantn. Pokud odmt svtov podek, kter vznikl v poslednch desetiletch po rozpadu Sovtskho
svazu, odmt osvobozen ruskch satelit z nadvldy Moskvy. Odmt politick zmny v pobaltskch zemch. Odmt fakt, e se Polsko,
Maarsko, Slovensko a esko po pdu elezn opony vrtily zptky na Zpad. Je to temn hrozba. A kdy se dvte na rusk vojensk
pehldky, kde maruj vojci spolu s pravoslavnmi popy, bh vm mrz po zdech.

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Think about the following topics and present one of them briefly:
1.

Describe the European and American sanctions against Russia. How much are they effective? Should they be tightened? What
other steps would you take?
2. Conspiracy theories in Russian propaganda.
3. Reasons for European disunity. Which states manifest pro-Putin attitudes? Putin and Orbn: what do they have in common?
Is Hungary Putins Trojan horse?
4. Are the Balts fears of the hybrid war orchestrated from Russia justified?
5. How would you assess the performance of the EU negotiators in Minsk? What can they realistically achieve? Should Ukraine
receive military aid from the West?
6. Describe the activities of Czech politicians what course of action would you advise?