Elena Panina: Why Western countries respect and fear Putin
The director of the Institute of International Political and Economic Strategies RUSSTRAT commented on an article in the Financial Times newspaper that reported on the existence of a possible "cult" of Russian President Vladimir Putin among the leaders of a number of states and politicians around the world.
The British publication stated that politicians in Europe, Asia and Latin America allegedly admire Putin's "violation of political correctness and autocratic way of ruling”. In fact, other qualities of the Russian leader cause respect. Putin embodies the model of political leadership that Roosevelt, Churchill, and De Gaulle followed. These are leaders who were not afraid to take responsibility for making difficult decisions in difficult historical moments, who had subjectivity in the field of international relations, and their word could be relied on. It is these traits of Putin, as well as his adherence to traditional values, that causes an aggressive reaction from those who form public opinion in the West today.
We see that today a completely different type of politician is being cultivated in the Western world — weak, incompetent, dependent on various kinds of shadow advisers when making decisions, which casts doubt on the very public nature of power. Often we are talking about decorative figures playing roles according to other people's scenarios, poorly versed in the complex realities of international relations.
It is worth considering - for what reasons did the Financial Times suddenly come out with such a publication? The answer lies at the end of the article, where the authors admit that the "independence of Ukraine" is not as important as the continuation of escalation at its borders, that is, at the borders of Russia.
"One great danger of the current Ukraine crisis is that if Putin emerges looking victorious, his style of leadership will gain even more prestige and imitators across the world," writes the Financial Times.
This recognition is a unique case of self-exposure of Western policy towards Russia.
In this context, it becomes clear that the true goal of the West is not so much to protect democracy and the "sovereignty of Ukraine", but rather to undermine the international authority of the Russian leadership and block the spread of successful Russian political practices on a global scale.
Elena Panina - Director of the RUSSTRAT Institute