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EESTI ELU reedel, 17. juulil 2020 — Friday, July 17, 2020
Nr. 28
Putin wants to make Baltic states Russian protectorates, Yushkin says
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
Lying and power Among many other similarities, the current chiefs in the Kremlin and White House have often been equated in one characteristic – a clear affinity for autocratic rule. Their crass falsehoods make both Vladimir Putin’s and Donald Trump’s fixation on fibbing a tool in consolidating and concentrating personal power. They are both unabashed, repeat offenders. Right after his in auguration, Trump’s first official lie appeared to be an innocent de ception, a glimpse of his vanity. He had ordered his acolytes to make bare-faced fabrications about the size of the crowd at his in auguration. Photos from drones clearly refuted the White House’s version of the facts. It seemed to be an insignificant moment in the normal political landscape of exaggeration and feigned outrage. But in this case Trump knew he was lying, so did the media and the American public. The outright disdain Trump had for trying to deceive both his supporters and opponents alike was a glaring indication of Trump choosing power over truth. He had to make his dominance clear. The White House had entered a new era. Even when the historical evidence is massive and undeniable, Putin also basks in the glory of corroding the truth. In a slight dif ference from Trump’s need to assert his power, Putin is not faced with a fact-driven domestic audience. The lack of authentic infor mation makes Russians victims of the toxicity of his lies. But in ternationally, like Trump, Putin knows that bare-faced lying itself is the message. Their fabrications do not threaten their rule, in fact they’re both convinced lying enhances their power. Putin’s insistence that the Baltic states in 1940 formally request ed to join the USSR blatantly dismisses what the rest of the world knows – Moscow’s hand-picked proxies in both the local puppet governments as well as the legislative bodies, disguised as ‘parlia ments’, were ordered by Moscow to make that request. Similarly, he dismisses off-hand incontrovertible facts that overturn Putin’s narrative about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, deportations and oth er historical events. Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians can ask a very pertinent question: Does Trump’s acceptance of Putin’s lies also carry over to the latter’s fabrications about the Baltic states? Trump has sup ported, often repeated, Putin’s allegations that it was Ukraine, not Russia, who interfered in the 2016 election campaign; he backed Putin’s nonsense that people in Montenegro will start WWIII; he agreed with Putin on North Korean missiles not having the capa bility to attack the USA; he repeats Putin’s assertion that a “deep state” exists within the US foreign service elite, etc. Trump’s tendency to accept Putin’ perspectives on international issues is palpable. The power dynamic here is also o bvious. Putin spins lies and Trump parrots them. The Kremlin flatly rejected US intelligence’s accusations that Russia was rewarding the Taliban for killing American soldiers. Trump has yet to agree, even with a note of caution, that the allegations may be accurate. But he has already stated that the US will not retaliate – an arrogant statement of pure power. Taking the Putin-Trump construct one step further, does this mean the Kremlin’s falsification power extends to the White House? It’s easy to state that suggestions above may be rooted in an ti-Russia hysteria, unproven and just as spurious as the lying with which Putin and Trump are accused. But no one can deny that both men control their own narrative and can make their own reality – Trump probably exponentially more often than Putin (at least ac cording to numerous ‘fact-checkers’). The universal justification for lying – “but everyone does it” – promotes public gullibility. Mixed with a heavy dose of cynicism, surrendering to lies negates the possibility of truth and emboldens those who wield lying as power. Someone has said: “The ideal tyranny is that which is ignorant ly self-administered by the victims. The most perfect slaves are, therefore, those unaware people who blissfully enslave them selves.” LAAS LEIVAT
borders were redrawn and con tinents divided up” by the great powers involved in a great game. He signaled that in par propaganda from the last years ticular by quoting Marshal Paul Goble, Window on of Stalin’s rule, Yushkin says; Foche’s observation at Versaille Eurasia, July 2020 but at another more fundamen that “this is not a peace: this is Vladimir Putin wants the tal and disturbing one, they re a 20-year amnesty.” three Baltic countries to be flect his understanding of the For Putin, “the victory in the come Russian protectorates; nature of geopolitical space cold war and the disintegration and now that he has won the around Moscow (rus.postimees. of the USSR also are not a right to stay in power for ee/7013142/iyunskie-tezisy- peace but only an armistice,” decades, he is no longer con putina). Yushkin says. As a Chekist, strained and will take danger For Putin, that space consists Putin cannot view August 1991 ous risks to achieve that, of three overlapping sets of “as the victory of the people of Vladimir Yushkin, head of coordinates: the borders of the Russia over an occupying com Tallinn’s Baltic Centre for USSR, the borders of the munist regime. He was part of Russian Studies, says. Russian world and the borders this region. Thus, psychologi From the Kremlin leader’s of the canonical territory of the cally for him, the collapse of perspective, the British protec Russian Orthodox Church of the USSR was a defeat.” torate over Eastern Europe has the Moscow Patriarchate, lines Moreover, “Russia also was become the American protector that have the effect of dividing humiliated” just like Germany ate; but the presence of ethnic Putin’s focus on what he con and just like Hitler, Putin feels Russian compatriots and Rus ceives of as the divided ethnic he had the complete right to sian citizens means that he Russian people. take something back, in his “will insist that this protectorate Putin sees, and the Russian case, Ukraine’s Crimea. But he be joint” and that Moscow has constitution as amended de isn’t limiting himself to that: he the right to engage in “humani fines, the Russian Federation as believes that the non-Russian tarian intervention” (rus.posti the legal successor to the countries took Russian lands mees.ee/7013142/iyunskie- USSR. The Kremlin leader and haven’t given them back tezisy-putina). takes this to mean that it is in and that Russia must have a According to the Tallinn charge of the space that was voice in all of their actions as scholar, Putin’s strategy rests on recognized as legitimately well. the assumption that those Moscow’s by the Helsinki Final At the same time, Putin around US President Donald Act in 1975, even though the knows perfectly well that “inte Trump are not prepared to chal US took an exception about the gration projects initiated by lenge Putin on this and that the status of the occupied Baltic Russia on the post-Soviet space US, in the words of former countries. are met by the newly indepen House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Putin’s second coordinates dent states with concealed or has no interest in fighting a war are the borders of what he calls open expressions of fears about in Putin’s backyard. “the Russian world”. Since the loss of their sovereignty,” Given that this is what Putin 2014, he has viewed himself as that most want to cooperate believes, whatever the facts are, “the guarantor of the security” with others like China and that he is going to try to achieve his of that world and made this Moscow’s moves in South notion “the ideology of post- Ossetia, Abkhazia and Crimea goal and the possibility that Trump may not be re-elected Soviet revenge” and of Russia frighten them. may mean that he will take once again being “the in “Putin also understands,” action sooner rather than later gatherer of a world divided by Yushkin says, “that the disinte lest what he views as a window artificial borders.” Since 2009, gration of the USSR is still not of opportunity begin to close, he has had the right to use force completed.” Unless its com to do that. Yushkin concludes. ponent states come together, the And the third set of coordi largest one will fall apart; but These conclusions flow from his analysis of Putin’s recent nates for Putin are the borders he has no attractive idea to article on the runup to World of the canonical territory of the bring them together. Conse War II, an article almost univer Russian Orthodox Church. That quently, he will use force or the sally acknowledged to be not includes 16 countries – Russia, threat of force to get his way. about the past but rather about Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, For most of the region, this the present and future and the Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, will involve threats to take parts ways in which the Kremlin Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, of the territory of these coun leader views the world in general Mongolia, Tajikistan, Turk tries unless they cooperate. For spatially and temporally and menistan, Uzbekistan and Japan, the three Baltic countries, it Eastern Europe and the Baltics as well as “all believers” in the may involve that but it will also ROC MP elsewhere. in particular. soon involve, the Tallinn-based When one reads Putin’s analyst says, demands that the At one level, Putin’s argu ments were little more than a article, one can see that he feels three accept becoming protec warmed over version of Soviet “comfortable in the past when torates of the Kremlin.
The Minister of Population will study Estonian communities abroad Minister of Population Riina Solman announced a tender to find a researcher for Estonian foreign communities and potential returnees. The period from September of this year to November 2021 is planned for the preparation and conduct of the survey. “Every Estonian is important for Estonia, regardless of whe ther he or she lives in Estonia or abroad. In order to get to know our foreign communities better and help them stay in touch with Estonia, so that they can actively have a say in making our lives better, we
need to get to know them. The diversity and viability of ex patriate Estonian communities shows that a small but strong Estonian language and culture are viable,” said Solman. The results of the survey are used as input in the develop ment and improvement of various services and activities. Thus, the results of the survey are valuable to several minis tries, including the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Eco nomic Affairs and Communi cations, the Ministry of Edu cation and Research, the Minist ry of Social Affairs and Finance and the Ministry of Rural Affairs. As the study is related to the development of a broader diaspora policy in the (continued on page 11)
One new coronavirus case diagnosed in last 24 hours ERR News, July 2020 Over the past 24 hours (July 14), 426 tests of the SARSCoV-2 virus were analyzed in Estonia, with one case of COVID-19 diagnosed in Harju County. As of Tuesday, official data from the Health Board, pub lished by Koroonakaart, shows there are an estimated 26 active cases of COVID-19 in Estonia. No deaths were reported keeping the total at 69, four people are currently receiving treatment in hospital. To date, there have been 112,595 tests administered, with 2,015 confirmed cases.
