5 ms·
In the early years, some of Putin's speeches almost seemed liberal, and yet now, looking back, it is possible to see the imperial signature in his speeches, in
by lkrubner 5y ago
In the early years, some of Putin's speeches almost seemed liberal, and yet now, looking back, it is possible to see the imperial signature in his speeches, in particular, how his logic might lead to the erasure of an entire people. He initially emphasized a kind of multiculturalism, but now it seems to be the multiculturalism of an all-conquering empire, the kind of multiculturalism we sort of saw with the Roman Empire, not a multiculturalism that respects the independence of others, but a multiculturalism that feels that all cultures are fungible enough that the army will eventually bring all of them under control.
Still, it is possible that Putin really was, at one point, a bit more sympathetic to a multicultural point of view. It's possible that he's gone insane over the last 10 years. Consider how he sounded in 2012:
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Putin’s final major address as prime minister to parliament in April 2012 hammered home this point – the dangers of dividing and thus destroying. It came in the form of an answer to a suggestion from a member of the Russian Duma that the preamble to the Russian constitution be changed from beginning with “We the multinational people [narod] of Russia,” to “We the [ethnic] Russian [russkiy] people and the people who have joined with it.” Putin retorted:
Do you understand what we would do [if we did that]? Part of our society would consist of first class people and part would be second class. We must not do that if you and I want to have a strong single [yedinaya] nation, a single people [narod], if we want each person who lives on the territory of the country to feel that this is their homeland, and that there is no other homeland, nor can there be one. And if we want each person to feel like that, then we have to be equal. This is the principle question. The fact that the [ethnic] Russian [russkiy] people are – without a doubt – the backbone, the fundament, the cement of the multinational Russian [rossiyskiy] people cannot be questioned….But to divide everyone up into first, second, third categories, you know, this is a very dangerous path. You and I, all of us, must not do this.
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See more details here:
https://demodexio.substack.com/p/mr-putin-operative-in-the-kremlin-ce9?s=w https://demodexio.substack.com/p/mr-putin-operative-in-the-k...
- hdjjhhvvhga 5y agoThe decisive point is who is in control. Putin is happy with multiculturalism of current Belarus and Chechnya, and of the Ukraine with Yanukovych.
- sofixa 5y agoHow is Belarus multicultural? Chechnya and the other Caucasian republics are miniscule, and Putin and the Putin-sanctioned dictators there don't care about culture.
- hdjjhhvvhga 5y agoWhat I mean is that in Putin's view the culture of Russia can coexist with the culture of Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia etc. as long as he is in control.
- agapon 5y agoI just want to point out that the bloodbath in Chechnia and the 2008 "military operation" in Georgia happened much earlier than 2012. What changed is that they became much more open about their real goals. Previously, they did their thing, perhaps slightly more subtly, while bullshitting the world.
- zaphirplane 5y agoOMG This isn’t a war of expansion and colonization This is about encirclement, nato, missiles on the border, warm water access No value judgment in the right or wrong of it
- jotm 5y agoWhy would you willingly choose to believe a dictator?
- zaphirplane 5y agoThe premise of the question is not correct
- Cthulhu_ 5y agoEh? They invaded a neighbouring sovereign country and murdered tens of thousands of civilians, what do you mean "no value judgment in the right or wrong of it"? I mean if the people in eastern Ukraine or Crimea WANTED to join Russia, there's democratic and peaceful ways to go about it. If Russia wanted access to the Black Sea, there's peaceful ways to go about it, like trade and freedom of commerce agreements like Europe has.
- zaphirplane 5y agoI am not commenting on the right or wrong of the war, addressing the motivation
- fock 5y ago> I mean if the people in eastern Ukraine or Crimea WANTED to join Russia, there's democratic and peaceful ways to go about it. You remember Zelensky was elected on the narrative he'd bring peace. For that there was Minsk which was not good and giving in to force, but well, implementing it would have been a hell of a lot better than what's happening now. Yet, he wasn't able to achieve that? Maybe Ukraine isn't the center of democracy the State Department made it into the past 2 months.
- jotm 5y agoI think the lesson is to never have one small group in power for more than a decade. Which is a major part of why elections and term limits exist. Putin may well have been more open minded, he just got pissy lately and he has a lot of power. One tantrum means thousands die. Why would anyone with half a brain allow that? Most people just want to live and work.
- yobbo 5y agoThe elite in russia becomes wealthy by extracting natural resources from the vast territories of the russian federation's member republics. They need the distant republics and ethnic minorities to stay poor, dependent, and deferential to moscow. The danger putin would see in "dividing into categories" is ethnic pride (in anything but russian ethnicity), uprisings, and "colour revolutions".