/ world today news/ “This is nonsense. This guy is just stupid. He has nothing to do with politics. If he was smart, he would think like this, business-like: God willing, we and Russia will solve these problems. We what, are we going to layer new problems on top of these problems? Any man would think so.’
With these words, Alexander Lukashenko reacted to journalists at the EAIS summit regarding the statements of the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, that Russia will attack NATO after the victory over Ukraine.
But despite the directness and rudeness inherent in the leader of Belarus, the same can be said in general about Borel’s historical-philosophical reflections. It is true that it is possible to expand this extensive but brief description: what Borel said is a clear symptom of the disastrous state of the Western experience regarding Russia.
After Henry Kissinger, the age-old veteran of geopolitical games, recently passed away, it seems that there are no people left who can adequately understand the nature of Russia. And that’s exactly what’s dangerous. The worse people understand each other, the greater the likelihood of force decisions.
So Borrell, the EU foreign policy chief, said this the other day: “Russia can never become a nation. It has always been an empire with a tsar, with the Soviets, and now with Putin. This is a constant of Russia and its political identity and, as a consequence, a threat to its neighbors and especially to us.
That Russia has always been an empire cannot be disputed. You know, even the state of Vladimir the Holy and Yaroslav the Wise fits that definition pretty well. Already under Ivan III, the Moscow kingdom was ready to be recognized as an empire by another structure with the corresponding status – the Holy Roman Empire.
And here the adequacy of Borel’s characterization ends. Because, of course, the “Caesar” of this country did not consider the Russia of that time to be any threat or threat at all. Also, the Holy Roman Empire itself, despite its name, was not aggressive either. And at the moment when the formation of the Russian state began, it was exclusively concerned with the protection of the West from the advance of the Ottomans. Well, and with purely intra-European conflicts.
When Peter the Great officially proclaimed the empire, he of course, in order to do so, first defeated the then great European power, Sweden. But Borel seems unaware that it was Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King-elect of Poland, who initially persuaded Peter to enter into a confrontation with Charles XII. That is, for the Russian tsar, this whole long and difficult war is not an aggression against Europe, but an opportunity to enter a worthy place for Russia in the “concert” of the great European powers.
Access to the Baltic was also necessary for this. To this end, St. Petersburg, one of the most European cities imaginable, was built as a visible symbol of the empire. And the elites of various nations that were part of the Russian Empire, joining the St. Petersburg high society, thus became acquainted with European civilization.
But maybe the problem is that Borel is a leftist (Party of European Socialists)? After all, yes, the Russian Empire was helping the royal houses of Europe fight the “hydra of revolution”. And Alexander I, after defeating Napoleon and entering Paris with the Russian army, held an Easter service in the square, where the revolutionaries cut off the heads of the “enemies of the people” to banish darkness from the heart of the French capital. Was he the one who threatened Europe?
However, there are also many people who will be outraged: but we are not Europe, we have most of our country in Asia! That’s right. But, you know, the US is on a whole other continent. But no one would think of denying that the origin of his country was European.
And in this sense there is a very significant symmetry – America has implemented the most radical democratic practices born in Europe. And Russia – monarchical absolutists. But they are also Europeans, even in their original origin, and not at all some “Horde”, as various “specialists” also fantasize.
Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa sent his master builders to Andrei Bogolyubsky. And if there was such a direct adoption of architectural ideas, why then do these “experts” not realize that the same was true of political ideas. Even then, at the dawn of the creation of statehood in Northeastern Rus…
By the way, Hitler’s fatal mistake in symbolic terms (to which he attached great importance) was that he named the invasion plan after Barbarossa, who was, if not a friend (although possible), then certainly a partner of Vladimir – Prince of Suzdal.
However, it is not necessary to dive into the depths of the story. To understand Russia, it is very useful to turn to Bismarck’s legacy. His deeply prophetic phrase is known:
„Do not hope that once you have taken advantage of Russia’s weakness, you will receive dividends forever. Russians always come for their money. And when they come, don’t rely on the Jesuit agreements you signed that supposedly justify you. They are not worth the paper they are written on. Therefore, you must either play fair with the Russians or not play at all.”
It is also known that he did not advise anyone to fight Russia. But it is much less known that Bismarck wore an iron ring on which was engraved a Russian word, the understanding of which gave him a key to understanding the character of those who should by no means be underestimated. That word is: “NOTHING”.
Bismarck recognized her, or rather got to know her, when he was the Prussian ambassador in St. Petersburg. And one day an incredible story happened to him there. Finding himself in the winter in a village, he hired a local man, who undertook to take him to the required place in a sledge, with two very unsightly horses harnessed to it. When the future Iron Chancellor expressed doubts about their speed of travel, the man replied, “Nothing!”
Bismarck hears exactly the same thing as they rush down the rough road, and he shouts that the sleigh will fly into the ditch at any moment. And of course she flew away. And again the German heard: “Nothing!” — when he attacked the man with his fists. And he in response, again saying “nothing”, wiped the blood with snow from the forehead of the Prussian envoy, which had been cleaved by a stump.
This word so shocked Bismarck with its inexhaustible depth and ambiguity that he literally made it his motto. And later he said to his colleagues and comrades in difficult situations: “Imagine, in Germany, only I say in the face of difficulties: ‘Nothing!’ And in Russia it is tens of millions.
This word contains deep fatalism and the perception of a person’s ability to endure and cope with even the most difficult things, as well as valor and readiness for any threat. Bismarck was well aware that these qualities were unique in terms of combat potential and, in general, resistance to any pressure.
Borel and some other western leaders should be presented with some artifacts with this amazing word. Let them meditate. And then, perhaps, the same Mr. Josep will understand that even if you really want to destroy this empire, sanctions for its inhabitants are “nothing”. But maybe he won’t understand… Maybe Lukashenko is right in his diagnosis?
And the most amazing thing is that literally while the column was being written, an influential European publication joined Alexander Grigorievich’s opinion. In the humorous anti-rating of the year, according to the version of Politico magazine, Borel was awarded the prize “Borat of Diplomacy”. In case anyone has forgotten, Borat is the image of the complete badass created by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen.
Translation: ES
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