The Bolshevik Revolution Shows Its Age

RadioFreeEurope:  Ninety years after Vladimir Lenin led Bolsheviks to the Winter Palace in Petrograd, Russians this year were once again able to tune their televisions to a Red Square parade. This time, however, the underlying ideology was entirely different.

Vladimir Buldakov, a leading historian of the Bolshevik Revolution, says the new parade fits into the government's efforts to associate itself with the iron-fisted rule and strong statehood of the Stalin years. "Stalin embodies superpower, imperial might. Lenin, on the contrary, symbolizes destruction," he says.

Stalin's popularity has soared in recent years, largely under Putin's influence. Putin has consistently tapped into Stalin-era symbols, restoring, among other things, the Soviet national anthem adopted under Stalin and abandoned after the collapse of the Soviet Union. By contrast, public esteem for early revolutionary leaders like Lenin and Leon Trotsky is declining sharply.  CONTINUED

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I had a guest speaker in my class, retired OSCE Ambassador Stephan Minikes, who concurred with the above observations in his remarks.  That is, Putin's pulling out all the stops to bring Russia back into the geopolitical limelight.  Just the $200 billion military upgrade program and renewed bomber flights was enough to raise eyebrows.

Not to mention Putin's looking to hold on to power in April by trying to segue from President to Prime Minister.  So much for true democracy.

Then again, in class we discussed the difference between US and Russian strategic development, the end result being Russia's history of insecurity made authoritarian government the most efficient means of coordinating Russian security policies.  Thus the transition to democracy has been painful--except for those who've learned to cash in on the process.

But since MOGS actually has more experience with Russian affairs--I think he has a Trotsky t-shirt--I'm going to pass him the mic (with Antitool at the turntable).

A History of Modern Russia: From Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin

Comments

[MOGS]

Ahhhhh......Soveytski Soyuz....

aka "the good ole' days..."

More to follow.

[antitool06]

Russia is behaving a lot like Germany did in the 19th century--they fear encirclement, and are willing to do just about anything to ensure their place in the sun. Then again, the Russians have always acted like that. Whether it was the Crimean , Russo-Japanese, or Winter (Finno-Karelian) Wars, or even the Cuban Missile crisis, insecurity always drives it. What's particularly frightening this time around is the Russian grip on natural resources, the cooperation with China in the Pacific, and our seeming apathy about all of it.

That being said, don't the Russians have it all a bit backwards with their symbols? Lenin was all about growth, despite the Civil War. New Economic Plan, anyone? I mean, shouldn't Stalin be remembered as a dictator--by the numbers--worse than Hitler? On that note, shouldn't Mao be remembered as a butcher worse yet?

Oh, wait, I forgot: Russian and China are ancient civilizations worthy of our respect...or so we teach our children.