Prior to making an historic visit to Accra, Ghana as the first African-American President of the United States, Mr. Obama flew to Moscow to hold talks with President Dmitry Medvedev. While he was able to come away with an agreement reducing the number of nuclear warheads, Obama was wholly rebuffed by the kingmaker behind the scenes: ex-President Vladimir Putin..
It is a facade carried on despite being transparent to both Russians and followers of politics around the world. In short, Medvedev is a puppet, and his strings are largely pulled by his political client. Putin has already stated his intention to seriously consider another run for president in 2012. The world should consider his statement a foregone conclusion.
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Under Putin's leadership over the past few years, Russia has declined from a semi-democratic state to a corrupt oligarchy with virtually no independent media outlets. As it was Putin's job to quash dissent as a member of the First Chief Directorate in the Soviet KGB, it should be no surprise that his government has all but jettisoned the rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. After uncovering Russian atrocities in Chechnya, Anna Politkovskaya (1958-2006), a well-known investigative journalist in Russia, was murdered in cold blood. While no link was found to either Putin or his government, the case has been swept under the rug, and her death still remains unsolved. Unfortunately, Politkovskaya has not been the only Russian journalist killed in the line of pursuing the truth.
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After a few of years of staggering economic growth due to high oil prices, the Russian economy has fallen on hard times once again. Corruption is the order of the day, and Russians have little to no trust in the police. Alcoholism is still rampant, and crime and unemployment plague every sector of society. In the absence of democracy, the Russians suffer under a rigged system heavily tilted toward a parasitical industrial-political class. This outcome was no accident. It has always been the aim of Putin to restore Russia to 'great power' status - regardless of any former promises to adhere to a more open model of government.
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Boris Nemtsov (b. 1959), a former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and head of the Union of Right Forces party, has rightly labeled Putin as an adversary to the United States. After shaking hands with President Obama last week, he clearly avoided making eye-contact with his guest. Subsequent to their meeting, Obama used the word 'unsentimental' to describe the character of his host. Undoubtedly, the American president found Putin ice cold and prickly on several subjects during their talk. Significantly, Obama failed to mention whether or not the issue of Iranian nuclear power had been broached. Most likely, Putin was asked to consider being open to suspending Russian support in building Iran's first nuclear reactor - which the West believes to be a thinly-veiled program to manufacture nuclear weapons. If he was indeed asked about Iran, Putin would have dismissed Obama by criticizing the US for encircling Iran with soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan and defended Russian dealings with Iran as a sovereign affair.
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By continuing to assist Iran in constructing a nuclear program, Russia, under the reign of Putin, has demonstrated its anti-American stance and unscrupulous nature in aiding a despicable and despotic regime for the sheer purpose of countering American influence in the region. In his strident opposition to America, Putin is willing to embrace any nation irrespective of its human rights abuses. His Machiavellian politics are reminiscent of old Soviet-style internationalism and require a watchful eye.
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Although President Obama delivered an inspiring speech to the college students at Moscow's New School, the Russian people, who were prevented from hearing about the address by the their government, know nothing about it. After decades of dictatorship at the hands of Soviet rule, Russia is rapidly falling into another era of autocratic misery.
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How long will the West remain silent about the erosion of freedom and the increasingly aggressive posture of Moscow? Although welcome, a new round of diplomacy must not come at the expense of the Russian people. If the West collectively ignores the rising tides of Russian oppression, it may still yet manage to lose the Cold War nearly two decades after its reputed conclusion.
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J Roquen