August 21, 2008
So the Republic of Georgia sought to prevent the two separatist states of South Ossetia and Abkhazia from becoming independent. Russia then invaded Georgia, a country of only 4 million people, and virtually overran it on the pretext that they were protecting the two breakaway states. The United States and the West were apparently so absorbed in Iraq, Iran, and the Olympics that they were totally surprised. The French sought to negotiate the Russian withdrawal, and President Bush said that Russian action did not mean we were back to the Cold War, but we were not such “good” friends anymore. What sounds like a scene from the Marx Brothers movie Duck Soup is unfortunately the real world.
With few constraints, Putin combines the worst of imperial and communist Russia.
During the first decade after the breakup of the former Soviet Union, Russia was weak and disorganized. Its economy opened up, and the country appeared to be moving toward a new relationship with the West. Except for the invasion of Chechnya in 1994, Boris Yeltsin allowed the rising oligarchs to run the show. The Jews of Russia as well as those in the other former Soviet republics were free to travel, be reunited with their families, move to Israel, or help reestablish Jewish life on Russia.
Militarily, the Russians were in disarray and morale was low. They and some of the other republics still possessed huge stockpiles of nuclear weapons and scores of scientists and engineers who now were for sale to the highest bidder. Economically, a rising elite began to emerge and many of the Republics found themselves with large natural resources which could be sold to the West. This newfound wealth, after being skimmed by the oligarchs and the leadership, provided opportunity for many of these new states to develop their own economies. While crime and corruption was rampant, there was a sense of optimism. For the average Russian, however, life remained very difficult.
In 2000, Vladimir Putin, the former KGB agent and former director of the FSB (one of the KGB’s successors) was elected president of Russia. His popularity grew as he restored stability and nationalist pride.
For many Russians, the history of Russian hegemony is being restored in their own days. Much of what Putin accomplished in his two terms as president enabled Russia to have virtually no qualms now in flexing its muscles and embarrassing the West by invading Georgia.
Russia controls enormous oil and natural gas reserves, to which the West has become accustomed to having access. It has rebuilt much of its military and continues to have a major nuclear arsenal. Russia is beholden to no one and has no compelling alliances. While it would like closer economic cooperation with the West and wants to join the World Trade Organization, what it likes better is its independence. The West’s anxiety over European security and regional stability is barely its concern.
Putin combines the worst of imperial and communist Russia. He is an authoritarian leader, lacks scruples, and appears to be completely in control. Putin has made the oligarchs richer, but fearful. The average Russian has a better life, but he is not interested in democratic rule. The West must deal with Putin but cannot offer him very much. The lightning invasion of Georgia undoubtedly has made the rest of the former Soviet republics — as well as some of the former Soviet Eastern European satellites — fear that they well may be next.
Enter the Jewish question. Jews in Eastern Europe and the Russian empire in all its manifestations always lived in fear of the next pogrom. Georgia today is a young democracy, as is Ukraine. Both of them are seeking entree into the West, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the European Union. Yet neither country — nor any of the largely Muslim republics — has a long track record in support of human rights, while many do have a long history of anti-Semitism. Since life in Russia is likely to get more authoritarian and repressive, there is a genuine need for Russian Jews to reassess their choices — and to do so very quickly. The immigration doors to the United States as well as to Western Europe, even for those with a recognized fear of persecution, are not nearly as relaxed as they were before 9/11. For many Russian Jews as well as those from the former Soviet republics, Israel was never part of many of their dreams; yet that may rapidly become their only option.
Many Jews in Russia are very well connected and have become fabulously successful during the past 19 years. Jews have also become visible and identify publicly as Jews. Yet for many of the Jews of Russia, they may be in for a rude awakening. Despite declared friendships with Putin, there is no reason to assume some of these very oligarchs who represent the backbone of Russia’s new economy and rode to power on Yeltsin’s and Putin’s coattails — even with their mutual corruption — will not be just as quickly jettisoned, personally threatened, and their fortunes made vulnerable should the Medvedev/Putin government seek a scapegoat.
For the Jews of Russia and the FSU, nothing good can come out of the resurgent Russian bear.
Dr. Gilbert N. Kahn is a professor of political science at Kean University in Union (e-mail gkahn@kean.edu).
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