Russia recognized the independence of the so-called “LNR” and “DNR”. The corresponding decree, along with treaties of friendship and assistance, was signed on February 21 by President Vladimir Putin. To do this, the Russians were shown a large-scale theatrical production in three acts. It was unnatural and quite scary.
Link to “hop-stop”
The principle of the mafia is to tie the collective guilt of the gang members. More brutal – on the “mokruhe”, but you can just on the “gop-stop”, that is, a robbery. Priblatnenny jargon is now practically the official language of the Russian Foreign Ministry, but it also asks for a description of Russian domestic politics.
Within the framework of this logic, one should watch the recording of the meeting of the Security Council of Russia in an expanded format. Vladimir Putin gathered everyone in one hall and demanded to publicly support a decision that is criminal, from the point of view of international law: the recognition of the “Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) people’s republics.”
Ivan Preobrazhensky
The event went off without a hitch. Putin seemed sometimes bored. Still, as a director, he knew the script perfectly. He turned on in rare moments when something frankly infuriated him. For example, a hint at the continuation of negotiations with the West by the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) Sergei Naryshkin, which Putin is ready to conduct only if his position is recognized.
The President reprimanded the former colleague in the KGB as a boy. Naryshkin, from fear, was close, it seems, to stuttering. The director of the Foreign Intelligence Service, who was nervous, offered to accept the “LNR” and “DNR” into Russia, clearly running ahead. However, the main thing is that we saw the president’s attitude towards the head of intelligence. And not only to him.
No trust, contempt and even anger – this is Putin’s attitude towards the country’s top leadership. Subordinates are clearly afraid of him and are ready to fulfill any requirement. Putin is like an evil master of the puppet theater, who severely punishes his puppets for mistakes. We suddenly saw the inside of Russian politics, the backstage of this theater – and it’s scary.
Summary of the following episodes
Russian troops are already officially in the “LDNR”, from where they have not actually left since 2014. And everyone is worried about what will happen next. The amateur production of Putin already has options. There were many supposedly random slips of the tongue at the meeting of the Security Council.
First, Russia is waiting for sanctions. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said that the government had been preparing the country for many months for the pressure that would follow the recognition of the LDNR. Secondly, a new war is possible. Interior Minister Volodymyr Kolokoltsev proposed to recognize the republics within the borders of two Ukrainian regions. Of these, “LDNR” now controls only about 30%, then, apparently, the rest will have to be captured.
Whether this will happen or remain among the potential threats, screenwriter Putin does not make it clear. Although his second production – an almost hour-long lecture on the non-recognition of the current Ukrainian state and nation – allows us to assume the worst scenarios for the world. By the way, people who have known Putin for a long time say that the screenwriter, in the story of the recognition of “LDNR”, is not a metaphor. The President of Russia at critical moments becomes his own political strategist and director. Which, perhaps, explains the very low level of this series.
However, it may be that the Kremlin worked carelessly because even there it is obvious that there are simply no separate “peoples of the LNR and DNR”, the states are puppet regimes, all this is the territory of Ukraine. So, from a legal point of view, there is simply nothing to recognize.
Waiting for the second season
The last episode of the first season of Putin’s “Donbass Rhapsody” is the meeting of the State Duma and the Federation Council. They must approve all the decisions of the president, give them legitimacy, and at the same time make it clear to the army that it will not happen in 2014.
Everything is open – no hybridity and “ihtamnets”. Soldiers and officers, and in the event of their death – their widows and children, will receive all the benefits: housing, land, pensions, discounts on communal services. And if necessary, then the funeral at the expense of the state.
On the last episode of the first season of Putin’s Netflix for the poor, everything clearly does not end there. There will be a second season. In a peaceful scenario, its working title is “New sanctions and the development of the LDNR”, for which 1.5 trillion rubles are allegedly planned. In a bad scenario, it’s just “War”. And the Kremlin will release the trailer for the second season in the next few hours.
Author: Ivan Preobrazhensky, candidate of political sciences, expert on Central and Eastern Europe, columnist for a number of media. Writer of a weekly column for DW. Ivan Preobrazhensky on Facebook: Ivan Preobrazhensky
The comment expresses the personal opinion of the author. It may not coincide with the opinion of the Russian editors and Deutsche Welle in general.
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