Gwynne Dyer: Russia will pay the price for Vladimir Putin’s treatment of Ukraine

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      Conducting an orderly retreat is the hardest thing not only in war but also in politics, as Russian president Vladimir Putin is now learning.

      His own desire to avoid humiliation gets in the way of rapid disengagement from a losing battle, which why he waited until two days before last Sunday’s (May 25) Ukrainian presidential election to say that he would respect the result. And even then he said “respect”, not “recognize”.

      The Ukrainian election went well. Petro Poroshenko, a minor-league oligarch with business interests in Russia, won convincingly in the first round, and 60 percent of voters actually showed up at the polls.

      Even in Donetsk province, where most city centres are occupied by separatist gunmen, seven out of 12 district electoral commissions were able to operate normally. It’s a good start on stabilising the country.

      So why didn’t Putin just say “recognzse”, when that is clearly what he will have to do in the end if Russia and Ukraine are to have peaceful relations? Why prolong the uncertainty about his intentions in the West, where the belief that he is an “expansionist” bent on recreating the Russian/Soviet empire takes deeper root with each passing day?

      The answer is pride—and Russia will pay a significant price for Putin’s pride.

      Last week Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, enlivened his royal tour of Canada by telling an elderly Polish immigrant that Hitler's relentless takeover of European countries in the 1930s was “not unlike what Putin is doing now”. Prince Charles is well known for saying silly things, but what he said in Canada sounded quite sensible to many people in the West.

      That is a big problem for Putin.

      Putin’s seizure of Crimea from Ukraine, though completely illegal, was not the first step in his plan for world conquest. That is preposterous: Russia is a relatively poor country of only 140 million people. But it is a regrettable fact of life that the Hitler analogy has a powerful grip on the popular imagination throughout Europe and North America, and Putin’s aimless belligerence has been setting him up in Western minds as the next Hitler.

      He was very cross when his tame Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, was overthrown by protesters after he obeyed Putin’s demand to break off trade talks with the European Union. Putin punished Ukraine by annexing Crimea, and he started doing some heavy breathing about Ukraine’s eastern provinces as well.

      He encouraged pro-Russian gunmen to seize government buildings in eastern Ukraine and warned that he might intervene militarily if the Ukrainian government used force against them. He moved 40,000 troops up to Ukraine’s eastern border on “exercises”.

      It was quite pointless, since he could neither annex the eastern provinces nor remove the Ukrainian government without actually invading, but he was very cross.

      Three months of that, and the damage to his and Russia’s image is starting to pile up.

      Simple-minded people like Prince Charles talk about a new Hitler. Terrified Poles, Estonians, and other Eastern Europeans who used to live under the Soviet yoke fear that they might be next and demand NATO troops on their soil. And clever people in the Western military-industrial complexes see an opportunity to sell more of their wares.

      So at last, in early May, Putin sobers up and calls off the fright campaign. He says that the Ukrainian election could be a move “in the right direction”. He publicly urges the pro-Russian gunmen in Donetsk and Luhansk provinces to postpone a planned referendum on union with Russia. He even says that he is withdrawing his troops from Ukraine’s borders.

      But he doesn’t really withdraw the troops yet. He doesn’t use his influence to force the separatist gunmen in eastern Ukraine to postpone their referendum, and he doesn’t actually say that he will recognise the Ukrainian election as legitimate.

      Putin wants to walk away from the game, but it’s too embarrassing to do a complete about-face. So he leaves the pot of fear and suspicion boiling for another three weeks.

      Finally, only two days before the Ukranian election, Putin says he will “respect” the result, and his tanks start to pull back from Ukraine’s border. Too damned late. There won’t be any more Western sanctions against Russia, but Putin has managed to resurrect the image of Russia as a mortal threat to its neighbours. It will not lie down again soon.

      European defence budgets will stop falling, and the integration of the armed forces of the various new NATO members in Eastern Europe will accelerate. Leading-edge technologies like missile defence will get more funding in the United States. Foreign investment in Russia is already declining. And the countries of the European Union will move heaven and earth to cut their dependence on Russian gas exports.

      Putin has already turned to China as a new customer for Russian gas, but it will never pay as well as Europe did. He used to be able to play the Europeans and the Chinese off against each other, but that game is over. NATO sees him as a wild card at best, and at worst a real threat.

      The master strategist has lost his touch.

      Comments

      31 Comments

      Ivan

      May 26, 2014 at 3:13pm

      If you truly believe that Russia is not on track with their agenda.. You have been misinformed

      Vlad Komhiruzunuvavych

      May 26, 2014 at 3:22pm

      Putin just got bitch slapped by Obama. Old man Putin's 30 year old girlfriend will surely dump him for a man more viral.

      greg

      May 26, 2014 at 3:42pm

      Putin is a master tactician, not a strategist. He either has no appreciation for his strategic weakness or if he does he hopes to punch his way through with quick action. Just like Hitler.

      Sergei

      May 26, 2014 at 3:51pm

      The easiest and safest way to free Crimea and stop any other Russian aggressive acts is to make a list of 5000 Putin's top supporters, make it public, and then randomly ban for life ten persons ( and all their family members) a day from ever entering the USA, fifty-three countries members of the Commonwealth, and the European Union.

      Miraculously and without any other military escalation from NATO, Russia will stop and then reverse its Ukrainian activities and gains.

      Why? Because most Russian statesmen and bureaucrats made (read stole) their enormous fortunes in Russia.

      But they keep, invest, spend money and enjoy the luxury life style mostly abroad. Their children study and live there. Because it is safer, cleaner, warmer, better (think of Paris, NYC, LA, Hawaii, London and you would understand). And because 95% of life and reality inside Russia is opposite to the preceding.

      What is wealth without freedom to enjoy it? Almost nothing!

      Every and ALL of 5000 Putin's top supporters will get scared to death of being among the first ones banned for life from enjoying their billions.

      ALL 5000 of them will immediately push Putin to concede.

      Putin has been on top only because of their support. And Putin will have no choice but to reverse and become a more civilized dictator.

      William

      May 26, 2014 at 3:55pm

      @ Vlad... I think you mean virile.

      Mario

      May 26, 2014 at 4:27pm

      Putin or his KGB buddies wouldn't survive 5 minutes on the F-train in the City.

      John-Albert Eadie

      May 26, 2014 at 4:51pm

      Gwynne Dyer has gone off his rocker. He is starting to eat the dog food of the Western press. Putin is in no way responsible for the SE Federalist reactions to a USA / Ukrainian Fascist coup and resulting totally Faux Election. If the Chocolate King refuses to treat with the SE leaders, and I expect he won't, THEN Putin will act. This is still a very dangerous time for Russia, the EU, and the USA. Whether the EU continues to be the USA's creature is the critical thing. Putin is only doing what he must.

      P.Peto

      May 26, 2014 at 4:55pm

      I really find it difficult to believe that our esteemed political commentator really believes the stuff he writes, especially the views expressed in this column. No doubt he is solidly on the western media bandwagon denouncing the west's preeminent bogyman and thereby further feeding public hysteria for waging
      war against Russia. Well, eat it up sheeple, if that's to your taste. For something more palatable try reading:
      http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2014/05/20/guest-column-israel-shamir-uk...

      Ramlakhan

      May 26, 2014 at 5:09pm

      Putin know the West has no will power to confront Russia militarily. He also knows that they are scared that sanctions will make a dictator in the likes of him behave and act in a manner that will impact their economic basket policy.

      Ukrainians should get ready for a long, hard and virtually impossible journey with Petrol.

      Holt

      May 26, 2014 at 7:42pm

      Wow a Jewish Billionaire runs Ukraine! I hope Wrong Sektor is happy now.