Returning to Russia’s future, it is indeed worth returning to Voronov’s op-ed on Stalinism, which was published by an active Russian newspaper. It must be asserted emphatically that the brave team at Novaya Gazeta is to be commended for upholding freedom of speech under difficult conditions. Speaking more broadly, one might also recognize that Russia has made a start on reconciling with Soviet misdeeds, even if this effort remains incomplete. Russia is hardly the only country falling short by that metric. In the end, one cannot completely dismiss Russians’ broader desire for stability and experience at the helm during a very challenging time (for all countries). In the areas of defense and foreign policy, Putin’s leadership has hardly been flawless (e.g. the Syrian quagmire) but has broadly comported rationally with Russia’s difficult strategic and economic position. 

The ultimate irony is that Putin actually, in some significant respect, is himself an American project. U.S. “election engineers” openly admit to twisting the 1996 Russian presidential contest to favor Yeltsin, who in turn selected Putin for rapid ascent. Moreover, one of the reasons that Putinism remains so stubbornly popular in Russia today is sadly the pervasiveness of American antagonism toward Russia that everywhere darkens the prospects for global peace, prosperity, and cooperation. Relaxing unwarranted Cold War-type tensions with Russia will turn out to be the best way to encourage freedom and pluralism in that country. 

Lyle J. Goldstein is Research Professor in the China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI) at the United States Naval War College in Newport, RI. In addition to Chinese, he also speaks Russian and he is also an affiliate of the new Russia Maritime Studies Institute (RMSI) at Naval War College. You can reach him at [email protected]. The opinions in his columns are entirely his own and do not reflect the official assessments of the U.S. Navy or any other agency of the U.S. government.

Image: Reuters