It Is Better Not To Quarrel

On July 4, Americans for the 236th time celebrated Independence Day, a major national holiday that marks the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, declaring the country free from the British Crown’s domination. So today we’ll talk about the U.S.

Russian attitudes toward the U.S. are very polarized. Supposedly, the liberals always admire and support the U.S. The patriots and the Communists, by contrast, do not like America’s inhabitants and government, and always support its opponents, such as Serbia, and Libya’s Gadhafi. As a result, neither side typically understands my position. My attitude toward the U.S. is neither good nor bad, but neutral.

Like it or not, since 1991 the U.S. has been the only superpower. It has the strongest military technology and a controlling stake in the global economy. The globalization of the world happens if not by its direct orders, then to a large extent by American design. It’s very likely that the U.S. will remain the only superpower for the foreseeable future. At this stage, the U.S. has won the global competition, and for the most part it did so absolutely fairly.

The U.S. is based on the principles of economic freedom. Of course, not everything has gone smoothly, but somehow the invisible hand of the market created the most powerful and efficient economy in the world. Fully in line with the Protestant morality, generations of Americans have tried to work hard and be humble. Leading U.S. corporations have for a long time employed the best minds from around the world. The New York Stock Exchange remains the main financial area of the planet, and all other financial markets, including Russia’s, are in essence Wall Street’s branch offices. America’s competent foreign policy allowed it during the two world wars to become significantly stronger with the least losses, and after the disengagement of the Soviet Union and its allies, to become a world leader.

The Soviet Union’s collapse is still a very sensitive topic in Russian society, because for the first time in history Russians were left without an Empire. Americans get accused of precipitating the collapse, but they should not be criticized, because anyone in that situation would have tried to get rid of its rival. At the same time, saving Russia from Communism and analyzing results of the Russian Civil War were an internal affair. The only problem was that Americans confused the collapse of Communism with winning the Cold War. And throughout the ’90s they have actively interfered in our internal affairs, teaching us how to live. Even now, they occasionally make similar transgressions, thereby evoking a very negative reaction from the majority of Russians, including this author.

As was the case many centuries ago, in the modern world there is only “might makes right,” and everything else is simply a verbal cover for realizing personal ambitions. The Americans’ actions are natural: They won the struggle for world domination, and do not understand why anyone would interfere while they are dividing the spoils. As Vladimir Putin said, “The wolf knows who to eat…It knows who to eat and is not about to listen to anyone…” However, everything is not so bad and scary. Indeed, Russia’s GDP is roughly 10 percent of America’s, and the U.S. has many allies, while Russia has almost none. However, Russia, which has a solid nuclear capability, is the only country that represents a military threat to the U.S. It is this fact, and Russia’s significant natural resources, that explain Americans’ interest in us, and our domestic and foreign policy.

Americans meddle in our affairs only when we are weak, when we allow it, or when we give a reason. The predator always attacks the weak and sick — that’s its nature. In all other cases, it prefers to negotiate. Our president’s Munich speech, the Yukos affair, and the events of August 2008 have proven that the days when Russia was dependent on the West, and primarily the U.S., are over. However, the “Sugar Swamp” [December 2011 Russian protests] and the Russian authorities’ very mild reactions have revived in American minds hope for a return to the Yeltsin era. Admittedly, we ourselves are responsible for this. Now we will have to prove several times that in today’s world, Russia is strong and healthy, and the wolf can go on its way. That it’s better for the wolf not to poke its nose into Russia, and on a wider scale, the post-Soviet space. This will require considerable effort and resources from us.

At the same time, we will still need to deal with the Americans, and there are topics that should be negotiated. We live in a global world, in a global economy, with global money—the U.S. dollar. Therefore, if possible it’s better not to quarrel with the Americans, because they have technology, the main financial markets, and so forth. China’s economy improved due to the U.S. market and is still very dependent on American consumers to get stronger every year. Yes, U.S. foreign policy is, of course, quite aggressive. But is it always worth it to oppose it? Bombing Orthodox Belgrade is definitely evil. But in Afghanistan, the Americans are doing our work for us. Otherwise, the Taliban would be our problem. And the military operations in Iraq and Libya have definitely raised oil prices, providing Russia with a surplus and the Russian economic miracle of the 2000s. Of course, innocent people were killed, but for any Russian patriot the strength of our economy and money flow from commodity exports are more important. By the way, Russia and the U.S. are not so different from each other. In every U.S. election we see a competition between the Republicans and the Democrats. However, the fundamental nature of politics does not change regardless of the election results. Looking at Russia from this point of view, we can also say that the Republicans are Vladimir Putin, and the Democrats are Dmitry Medvedev.