Recently, the Kremlin approved a 25 per cent hike in the national military budget—this on the heels of arms deals with Venezuela and Iran. For many, these troubling developments indicate a more militaristic and confrontational Russia.
This perception is not entirely accurate. The idea of a ruthless, aggressive Russia, as portrayed by most media sources, becomes highly suspect when a little context is provided to explain the nation’s actions.
To better understand the path that Russia has taken, we have to go back to the end of the Cold War. At that time, a newly unified Germany became a member of NATO, an event which gained Soviet approval on the condition that the alliance not move any further east.
This promise was broken, as NATO marched east over the following decades. Former Warsaw Pact members Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary joined NATO in the ’90s; in the 2000s, post-Soviet states like Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia signed on. To the Russians, this was a direct threat to their national security—and the U.S.’s placement of anti-ballistic missiles in Poland was seen as an overtly hostile act. Compounding the problem is the fact that NATO is still pushing closer to Russia’s doorstep. The Ukraine and Georgia are now seeking membership, and the U.S. supports these bids.
Russia’s actions are hardly surprising. The U.S. is undoubtedly aggravated that Russian military hardware is making its way to Venezuela, but if the U.S. is meddling in Russia’s backyard, that country can hardly be expected to refrain from interfering within America’s sphere of influence.
Even Russia’s so-called crushing of democratic Georgia was not an unprovoked attack. The Abkhazia and South Ossetia provinces were made part of Georgia by Stalin, and have always sought independence. When the Soviet Union collapsed, both provinces rebelled against Georgia and attained autonomy, with Russia named as peacekeeper. When Georgia attacked South Ossetia last month and killed Russian soldiers in the process, their involvement became inevitable. Georgia’s unprovoked attack elicited a due military response.
Russia’s actions are either defensive or retaliatory. In the wake of the Cold War, it’s become fashionable to say that America is the world’s only superpower. Russia is still mighty, however—and it refuses to be pushed around. The country’s recent actions have proven that it will respond to provocation. The West’s best option may be to get out of Russia’s face and halt NATO’s march east.
