Russia – cornered men tend to lose control

Mar 01, 2022 Editorial

Kaieteur News – The pressures on Russia are being ratcheted up, with no letup in sight. Its invasion of Ukraine has exposed a possible miscalculation, with which its leader, Vladimir Putin, must now live. The likely miscalculation is that America and particularly Europe did not have the backbone to stand firm against its aggression in Ukraine, but which continuing developments indicate how wrong such is proving to be. As the Western world reveals an increasingly united front, and unveils more sanctions with teeth, the Russian strongman, is himself upping the ante. Vladimir Putin has travelled so far that he may not be able to stop his momentum, actually turn back. To do so might mean losing precious face, which is an all-important feature in Eastern cultures.
On Sunday, Mr. Putin took matters to an alarming level: he placed the nuclear forces under his control to a state of special alertness, as a response to what he termed “NATO’s aggression”. As to what manner of menaces fill his mind, there can only be speculation, why he feels it necessary to take that ominous step only he would know. But this is part of the playbook in the Russian leader’s hand, and he has not been hesitant to keep pushing the envelope, if only to manifest his willingness to go all out to restore Mother Russia to her past place of pride and glory. There is the probability also that each escalating step that he broadcasts is intended to test the mettle of those who are arrayed against him, as he probes for any sign of crack in the ranks of those standing before him.
It is part of the continuum of Mr. Putin’s carefully orchestrated assets that he marshals and deploys with great patience. He wants to see who is going to blink first. As carried by KN on Sunday last, compliments of Al-Jazeera coverage, “Senior Russian security official issues stark threats to the West -Former President Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow may respond to sanctions by cutting diplomatic ties with the West and freezing personal assets” (KN February 27). It is no secret that Mr. Medvedev is a creature of Vladimir Putin, a most trusted ally, and a posture from him is as good as one from the Russian leader. Freezing personal assets may not mean much, since not many on the Western side would have been so foolhardy, or committed, to leave their assets in Russia’s or its allies’ grasp. On the other hand, cutting diplomatic ties with the West is bad enough since this could be dangerous in the event of continuing escalations of sanctions and the resulting stresses. The open line of communication would be gone, and have to be conducted through intermediaries, if at all. This could result in costly delays and mistakes if there is a real breaking point crisis.
What was worse, and took matters into extremely worrying territory was Russia’s threat to opt out of the last nuclear arms treaty that it had with the U.S. No matter how calmly this is looked at, however it is studied, it is neither good nor comforting. For when nuclear alertness and scrapping nuclear treaties enter into the equation of discussion, even consideration, then matters have quickly deteriorated into both the dangerous and the possibly uncontrollable. We don’t like this kind of talk and posture from anybody.
Nevertheless, it is clear that the broad range of sanctions currently being deployed across a wide front is biting deeply into the consciousness of Russian leaders, that is, the only one that matters, Mr. Putin himself. Western financial institutions and their awesome bloodless power are aimed square at Russian chokepoints, and could cause untold misery for many there. Then, the European Union announced the shutting of its airspace to Russian planes, while BP is unloading its stake with “immediate effect” in the Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft (BBC, February 27). Further, the EU is doing something unprecedented: it is sending arms to Ukraine, plus banning Russian news entities.
As this is considered, something becomes more obvious. It is that when leaders are cornered, they can lash out with disastrous consequences. This is what the world faces today. Everyone loses, nobody ever wins.

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