With the murder of Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Putin's attack dogs have slipped the leash
Deep down in eastern Ukraine last spring, a motley crew of militant Russian nationalists with mafia-style nicknames such as The Gherkin and so on spearheaded the uprising against Kievs authority after the revolution there. In 2014, these paramilitaries might have been doing Putins bidding, and couldnt have operated from Russia without his consent. But their alliance with the Kremlin was very recent and predicated on its split with the West.
Putins government, however, has constantly talked as though the sanctions crisis is only a temporary phenomenon. Soon, normal economic ties, money-laundering through the City, and so on, will be renewed has been the sub-text of the Kremlins line.
But the rag-bag of self-proclaimed Cossacks and defenders of a New Russia want to be ostracised by the West. For them, eliminating pro-Western voices such as Nemtsovs made perfect sense. He embodied what they hated and his murder makes any rapprochement between Putin and the West unthinkable.
Nemtsov was tragically aware that he might be killed as a Western scapegoat. He recognised that his call for Russia to abandon nostalgia not just for the recent Soviet past but for imperial Russia, too, put him on a collision course with a growing majority in the country.
Nationalist websites identified the opposition politician as a treacherous Western agent, while Nato expansion to Russias shrunken post-Communist borders fed the alienation of many Russians who had originally welcomed the collapse of Communism.
I remember Nemtsov pleading with Margaret Thatcher to use her influence to stop Nato expanding into Russias backyard because it would revive anti-Western nationalism. He didnt see the West as a threat, but knew Russians saw its defence wing as one. Because Russians are well aware of the hostility of the Baltic States, for instance, to their old masters in Moscow, the Nato expansion to include Soviet territory was seen as the vanguard of a potential war of revenge by the ex-subject peoples. The Ukraine crisis is the clearest symptom of that.
This external pressure has generally rallied Russians behind Putin. But if he loses his reputation as the man who can guarantee law and order at home, then his hold on public opinion could slip. Yeltsins popularity plummeted under the double impact of deep recession and a crime wave. Putins strongman image could haunt him if nationalist paramilitaries shift their fire from Ukraine closer to home. The Kremlin has sponsored the nationalist tiger, but may not control it.
In the meantime, those hoping for Putins fall should remember what the Chinese have long warned us: be careful of what you wish for. From Whitehall to Washington, there is a nave assumption that anyone but Putin must be better for Russia and the West. But has anyone-must-be-better-than-Gaddaffi been true for Libyans, or us, since 2011?
The devil you know is always more predictable than chaos.
The collapse of the Communist system was largely bloodless. Lets not assume that the collapse of post-Communist Russia would not send shockwaves westwards. In 1991, the nuclear arsenal passed peacefully to the Kremlins new masters. Who will control them after Putin? Will they be easier to deal with?
Go here to see the original:
With the murder of Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Putin's attack dogs have slipped the leash
- Communism For New York Grocery Stores - AM 870 The ANSWER - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Christianity, Islam and communism and the global conquest - The Hans India - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- New York turns to full-blown Communism - Schiff Sovereign - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Trkiye's answer to Disco Elysium just broke cover, featuring more lawyers, fewer cops, an indeterminate amount of communism and twin fistfuls of guilt... - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- A Cuban woman surprises the President of Madrid in Miami: I am here because of communism. - CiberCuba - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- The essence of revolutionary communism: new introduction to the 'Classics of Marxism' - In Defence of Marxism - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Elicer vila and Destino exchange fire on social media: "Those of us who fled communism value the freedom of the U.S." - CiberCuba - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- The progressive "West" and the ghost of monarchy - In Defense of Communism - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- 39th Congress of the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP): Statements on Palestine and the Ukraine War - In Defense of Communism - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- First Nations are mired in 'soft communism.' This leader has the fix - National Post - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Reactions by Communist Parties on Israel-Iran War - In Defense of Communism - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Czech Blog: Wine and War A Glimpse Into the Legacies of Communism - Global Atlanta - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Israel and Hadash stand against Netanyahu government's attack on Iran - In Defense of Communism - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Anticommunism in Kyrgyzstan: The world's largest monument dedicated to Lenin to be dismantled - In Defense of Communism - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Communism Survivor on Revoking Chinese Student Visas: Beware the Enemy Within - NTD News - June 1st, 2025 [June 1st, 2025]
- The specter of communism still looms over the Balkans - The Spectator Australia - June 1st, 2025 [June 1st, 2025]
- Campus Communism: How the CCP Compromised Harvard and US Higher Education - Hudson Institute - May 30th, 2025 [May 30th, 2025]
- How the Portuguese Communist Party assesses the negative electoral result of 18 May - In Defense of Communism - May 30th, 2025 [May 30th, 2025]
- The shadow of communism still looms over the Balkans - The Spectator - May 30th, 2025 [May 30th, 2025]
- Texas House Advances Bill Requiring Schools to Teach History and 'Atrocities' of Communism - The Texan - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Bill teaching children dangers of communism passed in the Texas House - Washington Examiner - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Communists in Greece block trucks with ammunition heading to Ukraine - In Defense of Communism - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemns the killing of 27 Maoists by state forces in Chhattisgarh - In Defense of Communism - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Dr Oz Ridiculed for Urging Parents to Feed Their Kids 'Real Food': 'When Michelle Obama Said This It Was Communism' - Latin Times - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Bill to teach Texas kids the dangers of communism but not fascism OK'd by House - WOAI - May 22nd, 2025 [May 22nd, 2025]
- Bill to teach Texas kids the dangers of communism but not fascism OK'd by House - The Texas Tribune - May 22nd, 2025 [May 22nd, 2025]
- Poland: Don Streich, another victim of communism, will be beatified - Exaudi - May 22nd, 2025 [May 22nd, 2025]
- Can degrowth communism save the world? - resilience.org - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- "You blocked the system": A Cuban asks a robot with artificial intelligence when communism will fall in Cuba, and this is what it said -... - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Joint statement by the KKE, AKEL, PCP and KSM in the European Parliament against anti-communist initiative - In Defense of Communism - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- The Pope Who Foresaw the Horrors of Communism - RealClearMarkets - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Turkey: NATO Foreign Ministers are unwelcome in Antalya! - In Defense of Communism - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- East vs west? Romanias biggest vote since the fall of communism - Channel 4 - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Nazi collaborator's name initially engraved on the Victims of Communism memorial - Yahoo News Canada - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Turkey on the dissolution of the Kurdish PKK group - In Defense of Communism - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- 80th anniversary of the Anti-Fascist Victory: When the Communists saved humanity from the Nazi monster - In Defense of Communism - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Pakistan: Down with chauvinism and war hysteria, long live proletarian internationalism - In Defense of Communism - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Shen Yun brings 'China Before Communism' to Proctors Theater for two-night performance - WRGB - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- BBC accused of giving children 'dishonest' view of communism after failing to mention mass killings - GB News - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- FSU Shooting Suspect Was Forced to Leave Political Club After Insisting Communism Was 'Ruining America', Student Says - Latin Times - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- Blushing Bolsheviks! Not even fathers of Soviet communism did what Colorado may do to parents by sanctifying transgenderism - Read Lion - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- Blushing Bolsheviks! Not even fathers of Soviet communism did what Colorado may do to parents by sanctifying transgenderism - The Heartlander - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- Partisans for Peace: On the 80th anniversary of Italy's liberation - Against rearmament and imperialist war - In Defense of Communism - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- 'Red Scare' revisits the fear of Communism that gripped post-WWII America - KNAU Arizona Public Radio - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Republican U.S. Senators Introduce Bill to Teach Students the Dangers of Communism - Sierra Sun Times - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- A bill in the U.S. seeks to teach the dangers of communism in schools - CiberCuba - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Letter to the editor: What happened to being anti-Communism? - Pierce County Journal - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Beyond The Iron Curtain: How Polish Posters Subverted Hollywood Under Communism - Deadline - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- Linda Rama: This is what the world can learn from the fall of communism - MSNBC - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- Christian training center in northern China amid communism, Islam, and poverty - Mission Network News - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Gulys: Remembering victims of communism is both a task and a duty - Budapest Times - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Love and Torture The Stories of Russian Women Who Married Albanians During Communism - Euronews Albania - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Communist Knesset member Cassif: "They are trying to silence us, theres a fascist atmosphere in Israel" - In Defense of Communism - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- It allowed us to survive, to not go mad: the CIA book smuggling operation that helped bring down communism - The Guardian - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Nazism, Fascism, And Communism: Warring Sons To A Common Father OpEd - Eurasia Review - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- State Capitol news in brief: Communism lesson bill goes to Sanders | Senate to convene despite icy weather - Arkansas Online - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- USAID was created to counter communism, but came to a nearly opposite agenda - The Times and Democrat - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- My Dear Mother, The Last Divorce of Communism, Von Fock Tease New Chapter for Baltic TV Shows: Culturally Specific and Universally Relevant - AOL - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Canada: Marxist School 2025 studying the pillars of communism to prepare for turbulent times - In Defence of Marxism - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Cottons new book on China aims to ring the alarm bell on Taiwan and communism - coloradopolitics.com - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Sean McMeekin: Don't Whitewash the History of Communism - Reason - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- Don't Whitewash the History of Communism - RealClearPolicy - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- The Socialist State in Latvia: From the revolutionary triumph to the drama of dissolution - In Defense of Communism - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- Nothing says 'communism' like this $165 poverty-chic plastic bag based on Disco Elysium, aka 'the level of greed that they talk about in the Bible' -... - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Texas Audience Delighted to See Universal Beliefs in China Before Communism Through Shen Yun - NTD - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Communist Workers Platform USA: The Class Struggle in America and the Communist Strategy - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Turkey: Ahmed Al-Shara is an ISIS remnant and a war criminal - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Vietnam's Communist Party marks 95th anniversary - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- The Beauty of China Before Communism Was Eye-Opening, Says Houston Theatergoer - NTD - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Pastor Delighted to See Shen Yun Express Love for Traditional Ways Before Communism - NTD - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- KKE's leader Koutsoumbas on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Elon Musk and the Dictatorship of the Capital - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Another shameful anticommunist resolution of the European Parliament, full of unhistorical references - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Education panel backs expansion of tuition waivers for guardsmen, voices concern over bill to teach perils of communism - Northwest Arkansas... - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Gaza: By whatever name you call It Is Genocide! - In Defense of Communism - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Eduard Kuznetsov, Soviet dissident whose death sentence exposed the plight of Jews under communism - Yahoo! Voices - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- The International Communist Movement at a critical crossroads: The necessity of revolutionary regroupment - In Defense of Communism - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- 66th anniversary of the Cuban Revolution: Statement by the European Communist Action - In Defense of Communism - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Celebrating the Centenary of Communist Movement in India: Uphold the Banner of Communism in the Struggle against Fascism - Communist Party of India... - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- Eduard Kuznetsov, Soviet dissident whose death sentence exposed the plight of Jews under communism - The Telegraph - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]