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EESTI ELU reedel, 7. jaanuaril 2022 — Friday, January 7, 2022
Nr. 1
Opinion
The West cannot concede an inch to Vladimir Putin While world leaders gathered virtually this month to discuss the surge of authoritarianism in recent years, Ukraine is focused on defending its sovereignty and territory against more than 100,000 troops and heavy weapons that Russian President Vladi mir Putin has mobilized along its borders. While questions abound over whether this invasion-sized force will attack, Kremlinsupported separatists have already been shelling and firing at positions inside Ukraine every day, helping to advance Mr. Putin’s goal of transforming Ukraine into a compliant, autocratic vassal state like Alexan der Lukashenko’s Belarus. Despite these efforts, Ukraine has withstood the Kremlin’s intimidation since 2014, when Russian forces invaded and illegally annexed Crimea. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Putin has also demonstrated that diplomacy – in the form of concessions, deals or outright appeasement – only emboldens his authoritarian ambitions at home and neo-imperialism abroad. Costs in the form of sectoral and personal sanctions against the oligarchs who enable Mr. Putin and the projects they profit from, such as the Nord Stream gas pipeline, are immediate measures that can be taken to build long-term cre dible deterrence. Additional support in the form of military training and the supply of defensive weapons to Ukraine would also force Mr. Putin to recalculate the risk of invading his neighbour. However, recent reports about Western leaders making potential concessions to Mr. Putin have raised concerns in Eastern European capitals and Ukraine. The U.S. is reportedly set to “press Ukraine to formally cede a measure of autonomy within its eastern Donbas region,” which would represent a victory for Mr. Putin: Any autonomy granted to parts of occupied Donbas would be quickly exploited by Moscow to annex that territory.
Meanwhile, General Wayne Eyre, Canada’s Chief of the Defence Staff, said Canada will not deploy any additional troops to Ukraine, based on concerns about how additional Canadian troops might be perceived by the Kremlin. He made his comments after Mr. Putin’s warning that any new deployment by Western allies to support Ukraine would cross a “red line.” Canada’s position could risk demonstrating to Moscow that geopolitical thuggery works. A proposed high-level meeting between Russia and select members of NATO about the future of the transatlantic al liance has raised further concerns. It’s not clear whether Canada, which is leading NATO’s Enhanced Forward Presence mission in Latvia and has 200 military trainers in Ukraine, was invited to participate. Estonian Prime Minster Kaja Kallas recently had to remind allies that “Russia must also not be given any say in how NATO organizes the defence of its territory.” Meanwhile, former Lithuanian foreign and defence minister Linas Linkevicius warned that Russia’s intentions “are well-known, they were always trying to split, divide, marginalize, so that’s nothing new.” And indeed, last Friday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent two lists of security demands to the United States and NATO, which included a Russian veto on NATO expansion and the removal of all NATO infrastructure from Central and Eastern Europe. While Mr. Putin knows that most of his demands will be unacceptable, his actual intent may be to spur dissent within the alliance – and in the worst case, exploit the rejection of his demands as a pretext for war. “Mr. Putin already invaded Ukraine once. To deter him requires a meaningful demonstration of support for Ukrainian sovereignty and immediate sanctions on the oligarchs who enable him,” Garry Kasparov, a Russian opposition leader and the chairman of the Renew Democracy Initiative, told me.
Russian official media or even Russian neo-Nazi sources. Their authors/contributors have visited Russian occupied territories such as Crimea and the Donbass region of Ukraine and signed declarations backing the aggressive international be havior benefitting the Russian ruling elite. While many dismissed the ultra-left of the West as dupes of Moscow, before the collapse of the Soviet Union, they still espoused some Marxist doctrine. One party rule, state
ownership and Communists in power jibed with their ideals. But Russia today gives capitalism a bad name. The most affluent capitalists are those closest to the Kremlin leadership, whose corrupt relationship with these government-favoured oligarchs has made Putin one of the wealthiest men in the country. In spite of this, the far-left still supports this non-Marxist ruling elite, who do not adhere to any socialist principles domestically or internationally. While not accusing the Russian
Marcus Kolga, The Globe and Mail, January 2022 English-language supplement to the Estonian weekly “EESTI ELU” Tartu College Publications Founding Chairman: Elmar Tampõld Editor: Laas Leivat 3 Madison Avenue, Toronto, ON M5R 2S2 T: 416-733-4550 • F: 416-733-0944 • E-mail: editor@eestielu.ca Digital: www.eestielu.ca
The far-left and the Kremlin This writer has on occasion pointed to the mutually bene ficial relationship between many European right-wing fringe movements and aggres sive anti-Western Russian politics. While the far-right’s visibility in Europe has dramatically grown in recent years, especially with their anti-vaxxer exhortations, several years ago the influence of the far-right and the far-left in the EU elections was about equal. Both received about 8–10% of the vote. In other words, political extremes in the EU parliament represented about 20% of its members. Their combined influence has grown since. The far-right’s affinity to the Kremlin defies historic precedent. Not so with much of the farleft. It still adheres to the timeworn tradition of being Soviet (now Russian) apologists, even useful idiots. They’re true to their legacy from three generations ago, solidly rooted by well-known fellow travelers. One recalls Walter Duranty, the British-born, Moscow-based, New York Times journalist who ridiculed and lied in press reports about the 1930’s Ukrainian famine while simultaneously confiding to the British embassy that ten million had died from starvation in the Soviet Union. In fact, nearly four million Ukrainians alone perished from a deliberately managed starvation program. (One must acknowledge a rudimentary difference between the far right and the far left in their support of Russia’s policies. The left fringe knowingly and deliberately fosters pro Kremlin positions, some with ideological or intellectual motives, others out of nostalgia for the 1917 revolution, etc. The ultra-right presents a more strident, visceral posture, not out of ideological zeal. Putin is their poster hero who protects cultural conservatism and battles the permissive, decadent liberalism of the West.) In the 1940’s Bernard J. Stern, a US scholar and re cognized expert on Soviet nationalities, authored an article for the American Sociological Review praising the virtues of the Communist policy towards minorities and captive repub-
lics, that the latter supposedly enjoyed the right to self-determination and the right to secede from the USSR. He praised Josef Stalin as a skillful statesman. The academic piece was typically unfettered Soviet propaganda published in a recognized academic journal. Under Putin, Russia is adopting Soviet era propaganda as historical fact. The stark facts that were exposed in the early 1990’s, the brutality, and failures of the of the USSR are have been rejected and replaced by a myth, one that the Western left fringe honours, has taken their place. Perhaps one of the most distinct examples of this is the observation of Jean-Luc Mélan chon, leader of France’s Left Party, made after Russia had invaded and annexed Crimea, who insisted that Crimea belonged to Russia: “The Crimean ports are vital for the security of Russia. It is absolutely predictable that the Russians would not give in … The Russian nation cannot allow North Americans and NATO moved to their doors.” The European far-left’s relationship with the Kremlin was built on “old comrade” networks, developed by the Soviet KGB – contacts who, according to intelligence sources, are still alive. An appropriate example is Germany’s Die Linke party, the direct descendant of the Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the former East Germany, the Socialist Unity Party. It has been calling for an end to NATO and the creation of a military organization including Russia “from Lisbon to Vladivostok”. This coincides perfectly with Putin’s current demand – the dismantling of the North Atlantic Alliance. Ukrainian researchers have identified numerous far-left groups, all of whom have substantial followers at their websites, at least two of which are Canada based. Canadian Dimension and Globalresearch both support the Kremlin’s claims of Ukraine residing within Russian space and its domination, and justify the suppression of domestic political dissent. How many of these Kremlin proxies are funded by Russia is unknown. But often they cite
UCC meets with Minister of International Development January 4, 2022. A Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) delegation led by National President Alexandra Chyczij met with the Honourable Harjit Sajjan, Canada’s Minister of International Development, in an online format today. The UCC briefed Minister Sajjan on increasing Russian aggression against Ukraine and thanked him for his unwavering support for Ukraine. The UCC urged Canada to strategically target its annual commitment of $50 million in international d evelopment assistance to strengthen Ukraine’s democratic resilience and in supporting the strong civil society sector which supports democratic and economic reforms within Ukraine. “As Ukraine faces continued Russian aggression, Canada’s contributions are key to the international effort to alleviate the humanitarian suffering caused by Russia’s ongoing invasion,” said Alexandra Chyczij. “We look forward to working with Minister Sajjan to ensure that further Canadian assistance continues to make a difference.” Joining the UCC National President at today’s meeting were Vice Presidents Ann Szyptur and Olesia LuciwAndryjowycz, Director of Government Relations Paul Migus, UCC’s CEO Ihor Michalchyshyn, and UCC Senior Policy Advisor Orest Zakydalsky.
“Appeasement and negotiation only encourage Putin, and signals to him that threats and confrontation work.” He added: “Canada has a tool to immediately deter Putin in the form of Magnitsky sanctions, and there are some very high-profile Kremlin oligarchs whose Canadian assets should be targeted.” Mr. Putin needs to create a perpetual Cold War-style conflict in order for his government to remain relevant – both for (Continued on page 9)
regime of capitalism, the far-left calls it “progressive” for its anti-American stance, and its use of some oil and gas revenues for social programs. The left certainly denies any Russian imperialistic ambitions. Regardless of which one has more influence, the far-left and the ultra-right together help to expose a large number of people to pro-Moscow propa ganda. Both are remorseless Kremlin sycophants.
LAAS LEIVAT
