February 25, 2005
From Brookings, With Love
Russophilia lives! But hey, what else would you expect from someone whose real name is Nelson Strobridge Talbott and who learned Russian in his mid-teens at Hotchkiss?
P.S. Talbott is right when he writes:
...a move by the United States to evict him from the Group of 8 would only play into the hands of nationalist forces in Russia who believe in their country's uniquely "Eurasian" destiny, which implies an authoritarian domestic order and a foreign policy that combines intimidation of other former Soviet republics and xenophobia toward the world at large. A signal that the West is giving up on Russia would also discourage democrats, who are down but not out.
Not that I think fellow Russophile Condi Rice will need much persuading on this score.
Posted by Gregory at February 25, 2005 05:24 AM
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The big mistake was inviting Russia into the G7 in the first place. It's not a major economic power. The G7 is an economic group.
Mind you, I don't think that groups like the G7 have much purpose anyway, besides providing favourable photo ops for countries and snarling up the traffic in the cities where they meet. Can't politicians conduct business over e-mail like everyone else? Do they really have to spend hundreds of millions of everybody else's money whenever they feel like a chat (the result of which usually involves spending tens of billions mose)?
So let's get this straight.
Putin is telling Bush to deal because if Bush doesn't, Russia can always pursue its "uniquely 'Eurasian' destiny, which implies an authoritarian domestic order and a foreign policy that combines intimidation of other former Soviet republics and xenophobia toward the world at large."
Might this give one cause to suspect that Russia might threaten to quash freedom of the media, manipulate elections in neighboring countries (even to the point of assassinating political leaders), attempt to protect regime's like that of Saddam's, decide to help Iran develop a nuclear arsenal, sell advanced weaponry to Syria and, even, perhaps to the Palestinian Authority!
There may yet be hope for all those unemployed Kremlinologists.
