Let us be absolutely, candid. Russia, as we know it, has historically existed as an uncomfortably self-conscious adolescent, attempting to shield from Western Civilization, its empirical status, as eternally backward and anachronistic. In the selfsame era, when London was busily spinning fabrics on its mechanically driven looms, during the so-called “Industrial Revolution,” Russia was still back in the age of medieval serfdom. It is our view, that an eternal self-conscious jealousy of its Western neighbors has always been Russia’s motivating neurosis, including its present bloody martial behavior.
Any American or European visitor to the gilded and overly ornate, art palaces of Saint Petersburg would note the tasteless, obscene crowding, of priceless old masters paintings on every available inch of wall space and the artless vanity of priceless fine art sculptures occupying every available area of floor space. The spectacle is obviously, intended to impress the visitor with Russia’s ultimate superiority (in number) over the famous Western art collections (no doubt, directly aimed at France). However, Czar Peter the Great, by the garish demonstration of such a huge, and therefore disturbing, tsunami of fine art paintings, accomplishes just the opposite impression. The visitor cannot help but observe the adolescent and artless attempt, not to display the excellence of the fine paintings, but, instead, to outdo Europe, in volume, (if not in taste), the latter, a clear admission of defensive insecurity.
It is our view that Putin, wrongfully and typically, has anachronistically, attempted, by his regrettable and bloody attack against the Nation of Ukraine, (not to downplay its consequential tragedy), once more, is reprising the unique historically Russian neurosis, of anachronistic fantasy. It has been almost a century, since some major Nation, for reasons of pure territorial aggrandizement, has set out to attack another sovereign Nation. There are very few who would lend a scintilla of credibility to Putin’s purported goal, of eliminating Nazis (was not that the allied goal back in the 1940s?)
We can, contextually recall, the widely distributed, photo of Putin, the balding, shirtless, autocrat on horseback. His own projected, fantasized and self- idolized, perception of a movie hero of the American Wild West, is belied, by his noticeably, less than movie star stance of a Clint Eastwood in the saddle, not to mention the distinctly, non-heroic, bared torso. Such is an additional Russian extension of the obvious St. Petersburg neurosis, only, in this instance, the goal is Hollywood, instead of the Louvre or the posh Paris salons.
One is encouraged by the support of all of the countries surrounding Ukraine, and others, financially, by the delivery to Ukraine of military weapons, and, as well, by the assertion of financial sanctions against Russia and its mob of reprehensible oligarchs. Reportedly, even traditionally neutral Switzerland has participated in sanctions against Putin’s irresponsible and costly exercise of adolescent egotism.
From a purely logical or historic point of view, Putin’s adolescent behavior might have the potential to appear sardonically humorous, were it not for its tragic price in human suffering, blood and treasure.
-p.
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