Putin's Wars: The Rise of Russia's New Imperialism
Marcel H. Van Herpen
Language: English
Pages: 338
ISBN: 1442253584
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
This fully updated book offers the first systematic analysis of Putin’s three wars, placing the Second Chechen War, the war with Georgia of 2008, and the war with Ukraine of 2014–2015 in their broader historical context. Drawing on extensive original Russian sources, Marcel H. Van Herpen analyzes in detail how Putin’s wars were prepared and conducted, and why they led to allegations of war crimes and genocide. He shows how the conflicts functioned to consolidate and legitimate Putin’s regime and explores how they were connected to a fourth, hidden, “internal war” waged by the Kremlin against the opposition. The author convincingly argues that the Kremlin—relying on the secret services, the Orthodox Church, the Kremlin youth “Nashi,” and the rehabilitated Cossacks—is preparing for an imperial revival, most recently in the form of a “Eurasian Union.”
An essential book for understanding the dynamics of Putin’s regime, this study digs deep into the Kremlin’s secret long-term strategies. Readable and clearly argued, it makes a compelling case that Putin’s regime emulates an established Russian paradigm in which empire building and despotic rule are mutually reinforcing. As the first comprehensive exploration of the historical antecedents and political continuity of the Kremlin’s contemporary policies, Van Herpen’s work will make a valuable contribution to the literature on post-Soviet Russia, and his arguments will stimulate a fascinating and vigorous debate.
Women of Wine: The Rise of Women in the Global Wine Industry
The Rhetoric of Reaction: Perversity, Futility, Jeopardy
Beasts and Gods: How Democracy Changed Its Meaning and Lost Its Purpose
Welfare State Transformations: Comparative Perspectives
standing up to the West—‘the man who could say Nyet.’”[13] He “saw his job as masking Russian weakness while rebuilding Moscow’s strength. By his desk, he kept a small bust of Prince Alexandr Gorchakov, a 19th-century Russian Foreign Minister under Czar Alexander II who had presided over Russia’s recovery from its total defeat in the Crimean war. Partnership with the U.S. was not part of his lexicon.”[14] In an editorial Le Monde wrote at that time that the treaty on the Union State between
When asked: “Does your imagination extend to the possibility of a future conflict to the east?” he answered: “Our relations with Russia, like yours [U.S.A.], are pragmatic but brittle. And unfortunately, after the war between Russia and Georgia, I’m afraid conflict in Europe is imaginable.”[54] Another East European politician, Czech President Vaclav Havel, expressed the same concern sixteen years earlier: “I have said it so often: if the West does not stabilize the East, the East will
Defense Center of Excellence, 1 Cornell, Svante E., 1 , 2 Corradini, Enrico, 1 Cossack army, 1 , 2 ataman, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 host, 1 , 2 krug, 1 militias, 1 , 2 moral glorification of, 1 paramilitaries, 1 patrolling the streets, 1 , 2 political party, 1.1-1.2 register, 1 rehabilitation of, 1 role in local wars, 1 schools, 1 values, 1 , 2 Cossack Party of the Russian Federation, 1 , 2 Cossacks, 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 Don, 1 , 2 , 3 Council for Cossack Affairs, 1 Council of
46. “Nashi Looks to Expand Youth Militia.” 47. Cf. Lev Davydov, “Provoslavnye druzhiny ispugali pravozashchitnikov,” Utro.ru (November 21, 2008). 48. “MVD obeshchaut rassmotret initiativu Tserkvi o sozdanii pravoslavnykh narodnykh druzhin,” Interfax (November 20, 2008). 49. Davydov, “Pravoslavnye druzhiny ispugali pravozashchitnikov.” 50. Peter Pomerantsev, “Putin’s God Squad,” Newsweek (September 10, 2012). 51. Pomerantsev, “Putin’s God Squad.” 52. Cf.
outraged by such a decision.” He said he was “against the introduction of troops, calling it ‘reckless.’”[12] Georgy M. Kornienko, who at that time was deputy foreign minister under Gromyko, wrote, referring to the position taken by his boss in the politburo meeting on December 12, 1979: “From my conversations with him, already after the introduction of troops, I concluded that it was not Gromyko who said ‘A’ in favour of such decision, but that he was ‘pressured’ into it by Andropov and Ustinov
