By Robert van Voren
After the Soviet Union disintegrated, gradually a new generation took the lead. Some already appeared on the horizon during the lateBrezhnev and Gorbachev years, but most climbed the career ladders in the 1990s.What was in many cases a common denominator was the fact that they had no ideology, no convictions, no beliefs – just total cynicism. And often this was expressed with a hunger for only two things: money, and what we call “bling-bling”.
Over the past years we have witnessed the appearance of the next generation, young and normal-thinking Russians who are in many ways no different than their Western European peers. However, this very hopeful development has been completely overshadowed by the rule of the cynics, who have plunged Russia once again into a senseless bloody war. The generation of the cynics, exemplified by Putin c.s., keep the country in a stranglehold and have imposed their version of reality on the nation. Alas, the normal-thinking Russians appear to be a miniscule minority, in an ocean of servitude, infantilism, and inferiority complexes compensated with what the French would call “grandeur impériale”. And what is worse, one normal-thinking Russian after the other bade the country farewell, feeling disgusted by the explosion of totalitarian thinking among their fellow countrymen.
Cynicism rules and is all-pervasive. Internationally accepted terminology is used, but has a completely different and hollow meaning. Terms like democracy, rule of law, humanitarian aid, defense of peaceful citizens have become synonyms of neo-fascist dictatorship, Soviet-style justice, stealthy invasion of a neighboring country and downright occupation of foreign soil. There is no war, there are only “soldiers on vacation” or “soldiers who got lost”, and dead “soldiers on vacation” are brought back in sealed lead coffins and buried without name tags on their graves. While the world is watching an invasion of thousands of troops, hundreds of tanks and other military hardware, and shameless bombing of a neighboring country with rocket launchers, we are told we all have a problem with our eyesight and it is all a big misunderstanding. Russia is a peaceful country and only means well; we just don’t understand to what extent they are trying to help.
This is, of course, disgusting. It is the typical behavior of a KGB coward, who is compensating his small size and his mediocre career within the KGB with creating Potemkin villages, being deceptive, underhand and – above all – totally cynical. But what really upsets me is that most Western leaders go along. Without noticing it themselves, they become part of this cynical theatre play, where FSB and GRU officers from Russia play the role of “separatist leaders” and become part of negotiations where they show their “modest” demands to Kyiv, and Putin subsequently dares to add on by claiming their have a right to “statehood” and the West should accept. If not, Russia willexert its right to “defend” the Russian-speaking people, whether they want his “defense”or not. Oh, and of course without war: just by sending humanitarian aid!
Without noticing it, we slide down the slippery path of Putinism, become part of his sick game, start using his vocabulary, while in fact we should be honest and clear: Russia is waging war on a neighboring country, while it is at the same time too much of a coward to declare war.Sorry, but at least in that sense Hitler had the guts to say what he did and called red – red, green – green and war – war.
Why are we accepting this travesty of the human brain, and go along with Putin’s sick games? Men and women are dying out there, killed in a war that nobody wants, and only because of some sick person ruling a country that seems to have sunk into a collective psychosis. Isn’t it time to wake up from this nightmare and at least realize what is at hand?
[hr]image credits: theeuropean-magazine.com
