National Idea for the People
The Russian government constantly adds fuel to the fire of anti-American sentiments among its citizens. The U.S., especially in a crisis era, perfectly fits the role of the main global villain.
Everything is America’s fault. First, Americans stole our Alaska. Then, they wouldn’t let us catch up to them, or surpass them. They threatened us with a nuclear bomb and attacked our friends Vietnam, Cuba, and Iraq. In the Soviet times, the evil power fostered consumerism and other xenomania, and then destroyed the Soviet Union. Now it’s even trying to displace Russia from former Soviet republics, creating “orange revolutions” (Ukrainian protests). According to Vladislav Surkov (first deputy Kremlin chief of staff), the economic crisis is creating “waves of poverty and confusion that are coming from the West.” Even the protests in Primorye were organized by the Americans. At least, that is what State Duma Deputies Belokonev and Ivanov claim. It turns out that the former governor of Murmansk, Yevdokimov, wanted to sell the region to the U.S. Overall, just like in Demyan Bedny’s “In the Ring of Fire” poem, we’re surrounded by evil.
America’s image as the world evil is the legacy of long-lasting Soviet propaganda. American help in the starving Volga region, as well as the role of American specialists in performing the first of the Five-Year Plans for the National Economy of the Soviet Union, and Lend-Lease don’t get mentioned. The image gets superimposed over Russia losing its status as a great power, which used to equal the U.S. In addition, the real horrors performed by the U.S., such as the war in Serbia, greatly exacerbate the anti-American sentiment. And yet you can’t ignore the active role of the government, which continually throws fuel on the fire of anti-Americanism. There are groups within the Russian government that are clearly trying to make it a national idea.
Perhaps Russia’s leaders, many of whom are chekists, still suffer from phobias inherited from the Soviet times. Moscow makes anti-American regimes – such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia – its allies. It’s trying, though without much success, to befriend China and Iran. President Medvedev said that in 2011, in response to ongoing national security threats, Russia plans a full rearmament of the army and navy. Our “friend” Hugo Chavez invited our strategic bombers to visit Venezuela, which thrilled Russian jingoes. Our government is talking about creating aircraft carrier groups, fifth-generation fighters, state-of-the-art tanks, and grenade launchers capable of breaking through anything. America, beware!
But for some reason, America isn’t trembling. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal called President Medvedev’s statements hawkish, and intended for domestic consumption. Is this arrogance caused by Americans’ confidence in their own strength? Far from it. Simply, the U.S. can clearly see what’s really hidden behind Moscow’s veil of threatening statements. The government has no intentions of using its unrivaled state-of-the-art military power and technological wonders even to put psychological pressure on the transoceanic opponent.
Based on the proud reports about multimillion-dollar contracts Russia signed for arms export, it’s easy to see that by comparison, the amount of military equipment supplied to our own army is ridiculously small. Over the past 7 years, the army received only 114 new T-90 tanks, 20 Su-27 jet fighter planes, 6 Su-25 jet aircrafts, 3 Tu-160 bombers, 4 Mi-28N day-night attack helicopters, and 2 Ka-50 helicopters. That’s enough for a country like Guinea-Bissau, but not for a country that wants to be a great power.
Additionally, the T-90 is merely a restyled T-72, which is worse than the new NATO tanks in every aspect except speed (which tanks don’t really need), and only while driving on a road. It’s also not clear where these machines are ending up. For example, in South Ossetia, our troops not only used the T-72, but also the old T-62, which is long overdue for scrapping. For some reason, we also didn’t see Ka-52 and Mi-28 in South Ossetia’s skies. It seems like they’re stored on the Tushino Airfield for parades. And as far as aircraft carriers are concerned, there’s simply no place to build them. These ships used to be built in Nikolayev (Ukraine), and the remaining Russian companies do not have the necessary equipment or skills to build them.
The attention level our authorities give defense is evident in the sad events of the August War. The 58th Army, located on the most important part of the border, did not have modern military and communication equipment, and adequate air support. If none of those things were present in the Caucasus, then where can they possibly be? Moreover, the conflict’s developments show that there were no plans for military action, although the situation in the region escalated for months. Military experts were shocked by the sight of an armored car convoy trudging on the mountains; only in a fit of despair can tanks get thrown into mountain battles. What if the Georgians had decided to fight a bit, and had sent attack planes and helicopters against our tanks, and simply made a couple of rocket and artillery strikes? The road near Roki Tunnel would have become a cemetery for armored cars and hundreds of our soldiers and officers.
All of this isn’t meant to criticize the army. It develops operational plans when it gets an order, and uses whichever machinery it has available. While the oil and gas prices grew during the last decade, the army continued to lose fighting efficiency. In the meantime, belligerent nationalist became more vocal and the TV showed roaring planes and tanks. But militant anti-American rhetoric without an “iron fist” is just empty words.
Maybe all of this is due to mismanagement and theft? It’s nothing of the sort. No one at the top is thinking about defense, and the military is viewed solely as a source of foreign exchange earnings. I don’t know who came up with the idea of turning GLONASS into a business, but it’s very telling. What used to be a pure military tracking system is now trying to make a profit and compete with the American GPS. The fact that from a technical point of view it is absurd is a separate issue. What’s important is that our top leaders remembered GLONASS only in connection with their desire to commercialize it. They put a GLONASS tracking device into Labrador Koni’s collar, but forgot about the tanks. And how should we react to Industry Minister Victor Khristenko’s statement about the fifth generation fighter? Khristenko told the magazine Itogi, “We will fly the fifth generation fighter this very year.” Will our Air Force really get a new aircraft? No, as it turns out, the Minister doesn’t think so. “Afterwards, no one will need these projects. It’s the market,” Khristenko exclaimed. In other words, “Russian stealth” will be purchased by China, India, and Venezuela’s Air Forces. The leaders are only interested in exports.
Right before our eyes, our troops are becoming a meaningless group of people who soon will not be able to defend us not only from armies of developed, but also undeveloped nations who care about defense. You may remember such blatant “reforms” as liquidating Berdsk special-ops team, despite having only a few battle-ready special-ops formations left in Russia. The division reform also started with the battle-ready Taman and Kantemirovskaya Divisions (rather than starting with the countless understaffed, undertrained, and insufficiently armed), which will lose their ability to fight for a long time. Why? Simply because the aforementioned special forces brigades and the two elite divisions are too expensive. The army reform is essentially to dress up the parade troops in designer uniforms by Yudashkin, while all the others completely disappear.
The current leaders’ anti-Americanism, like their anti-West sentiments altogether, is pathetic. They hold currency reserves in the U.S., educate their children in England, and buy villas in France and Spain. Moscow doesn’t want to fight anyone (thank goodness!), but it still needs a battle-ready army. It doesn’t have allies, but has several external threats, from China and Islamic extremists, who could for example take power in Uzbekistan. And only simpleminded people can take seriously the possibility of a military confrontation with the U.S. It’s for these people that parades get arranged and TV airs pictures of tanks and planes.
In the 90’s cynical PR people said, “people khavaet” [slang: the people will eat it up]. Our country’s leaders live in a completely different world. They don’t take Russia’s status as a great power, or anti-Americanism, seriously. These national ideas are for the aforementioned people, who will eat them up. And apparently, our leaders think all of us are like that.
Everything is America’s fault. First, Americans stole our Alaska. Then, they wouldn’t let us catch up to them, or surpass them. They threatened us with a nuclear bomb and attacked our friends Vietnam, Cuba, and Iraq. In the Soviet times, the evil power fostered consumerism and other xenomania, and then destroyed the Soviet Union. Now it’s even trying to displace Russia from former Soviet republics, creating “orange revolutions” (Ukrainian protests). According to Vladislav Surkov (first deputy Kremlin chief of staff), the economic crisis is creating “waves of poverty and confusion that are coming from the West.” Even the protests in Primorye were organized by the Americans. At least, that is what State Duma Deputies Belokonev and Ivanov claim. It turns out that the former governor of Murmansk, Yevdokimov, wanted to sell the region to the U.S. Overall, just like in Demyan Bedny’s “In the Ring of Fire” poem, we’re surrounded by evil.
America’s image as the world evil is the legacy of long-lasting Soviet propaganda. American help in the starving Volga region, as well as the role of American specialists in performing the first of the Five-Year Plans for the National Economy of the Soviet Union, and Lend-Lease don’t get mentioned. The image gets superimposed over Russia losing its status as a great power, which used to equal the U.S. In addition, the real horrors performed by the U.S., such as the war in Serbia, greatly exacerbate the anti-American sentiment. And yet you can’t ignore the active role of the government, which continually throws fuel on the fire of anti-Americanism. There are groups within the Russian government that are clearly trying to make it a national idea.
Perhaps Russia’s leaders, many of whom are chekists, still suffer from phobias inherited from the Soviet times. Moscow makes anti-American regimes – such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia – its allies. It’s trying, though without much success, to befriend China and Iran. President Medvedev said that in 2011, in response to ongoing national security threats, Russia plans a full rearmament of the army and navy. Our “friend” Hugo Chavez invited our strategic bombers to visit Venezuela, which thrilled Russian jingoes. Our government is talking about creating aircraft carrier groups, fifth-generation fighters, state-of-the-art tanks, and grenade launchers capable of breaking through anything. America, beware!
But for some reason, America isn’t trembling. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal called President Medvedev’s statements hawkish, and intended for domestic consumption. Is this arrogance caused by Americans’ confidence in their own strength? Far from it. Simply, the U.S. can clearly see what’s really hidden behind Moscow’s veil of threatening statements. The government has no intentions of using its unrivaled state-of-the-art military power and technological wonders even to put psychological pressure on the transoceanic opponent.
Based on the proud reports about multimillion-dollar contracts Russia signed for arms export, it’s easy to see that by comparison, the amount of military equipment supplied to our own army is ridiculously small. Over the past 7 years, the army received only 114 new T-90 tanks, 20 Su-27 jet fighter planes, 6 Su-25 jet aircrafts, 3 Tu-160 bombers, 4 Mi-28N day-night attack helicopters, and 2 Ka-50 helicopters. That’s enough for a country like Guinea-Bissau, but not for a country that wants to be a great power.
Additionally, the T-90 is merely a restyled T-72, which is worse than the new NATO tanks in every aspect except speed (which tanks don’t really need), and only while driving on a road. It’s also not clear where these machines are ending up. For example, in South Ossetia, our troops not only used the T-72, but also the old T-62, which is long overdue for scrapping. For some reason, we also didn’t see Ka-52 and Mi-28 in South Ossetia’s skies. It seems like they’re stored on the Tushino Airfield for parades. And as far as aircraft carriers are concerned, there’s simply no place to build them. These ships used to be built in Nikolayev (Ukraine), and the remaining Russian companies do not have the necessary equipment or skills to build them.
The attention level our authorities give defense is evident in the sad events of the August War. The 58th Army, located on the most important part of the border, did not have modern military and communication equipment, and adequate air support. If none of those things were present in the Caucasus, then where can they possibly be? Moreover, the conflict’s developments show that there were no plans for military action, although the situation in the region escalated for months. Military experts were shocked by the sight of an armored car convoy trudging on the mountains; only in a fit of despair can tanks get thrown into mountain battles. What if the Georgians had decided to fight a bit, and had sent attack planes and helicopters against our tanks, and simply made a couple of rocket and artillery strikes? The road near Roki Tunnel would have become a cemetery for armored cars and hundreds of our soldiers and officers.
All of this isn’t meant to criticize the army. It develops operational plans when it gets an order, and uses whichever machinery it has available. While the oil and gas prices grew during the last decade, the army continued to lose fighting efficiency. In the meantime, belligerent nationalist became more vocal and the TV showed roaring planes and tanks. But militant anti-American rhetoric without an “iron fist” is just empty words.
Maybe all of this is due to mismanagement and theft? It’s nothing of the sort. No one at the top is thinking about defense, and the military is viewed solely as a source of foreign exchange earnings. I don’t know who came up with the idea of turning GLONASS into a business, but it’s very telling. What used to be a pure military tracking system is now trying to make a profit and compete with the American GPS. The fact that from a technical point of view it is absurd is a separate issue. What’s important is that our top leaders remembered GLONASS only in connection with their desire to commercialize it. They put a GLONASS tracking device into Labrador Koni’s collar, but forgot about the tanks. And how should we react to Industry Minister Victor Khristenko’s statement about the fifth generation fighter? Khristenko told the magazine Itogi, “We will fly the fifth generation fighter this very year.” Will our Air Force really get a new aircraft? No, as it turns out, the Minister doesn’t think so. “Afterwards, no one will need these projects. It’s the market,” Khristenko exclaimed. In other words, “Russian stealth” will be purchased by China, India, and Venezuela’s Air Forces. The leaders are only interested in exports.
Right before our eyes, our troops are becoming a meaningless group of people who soon will not be able to defend us not only from armies of developed, but also undeveloped nations who care about defense. You may remember such blatant “reforms” as liquidating Berdsk special-ops team, despite having only a few battle-ready special-ops formations left in Russia. The division reform also started with the battle-ready Taman and Kantemirovskaya Divisions (rather than starting with the countless understaffed, undertrained, and insufficiently armed), which will lose their ability to fight for a long time. Why? Simply because the aforementioned special forces brigades and the two elite divisions are too expensive. The army reform is essentially to dress up the parade troops in designer uniforms by Yudashkin, while all the others completely disappear.
The current leaders’ anti-Americanism, like their anti-West sentiments altogether, is pathetic. They hold currency reserves in the U.S., educate their children in England, and buy villas in France and Spain. Moscow doesn’t want to fight anyone (thank goodness!), but it still needs a battle-ready army. It doesn’t have allies, but has several external threats, from China and Islamic extremists, who could for example take power in Uzbekistan. And only simpleminded people can take seriously the possibility of a military confrontation with the U.S. It’s for these people that parades get arranged and TV airs pictures of tanks and planes.
In the 90’s cynical PR people said, “people khavaet” [slang: the people will eat it up]. Our country’s leaders live in a completely different world. They don’t take Russia’s status as a great power, or anti-Americanism, seriously. These national ideas are for the aforementioned people, who will eat them up. And apparently, our leaders think all of us are like that.
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