Vladimir Putin's Change of Rhetoric Signifies a Change in Attitude Towards the West
Mr. Putin’s not saying out loud that he was perfectly aware
of the opponent’s attitude towards his country and himself, and his persistent
use of the term "partners" were not only a manifestation of goodwill
(Russia indeed was not going to start a conflict with anyone). That was also resolve
to gain the time necessary to regroup, to recharge, and to assemble the
strength needed to restore the country’s defense and its economic power.
Today, faced with an attempt to drive Ukraine away from the
Russian influence, and being drawn into a geopolitical war, Russians do not have
any longer to pretend that they believe in the West’s benevolence towards them.
What Vladimir Putin is doing now is calling a spade a spade
when he speaks about the policy of containment that the West has been carrying
out for centuries towards Russia. Sergey Ivanov is doing the same when he talks
about the “eternal enemy”. This change
has a significance not only because it clarifies Russia’s relations with the
West, it is also important to the Russia’s own internal political status.
It is done not in order to create an “image of the enemy” and to slam down
another Iron Curtain but to advance the process of re-formatting the country’s “elites”
towards the formation of a leadership stratum that is truly focused on the
Russia’s national interests...