Putin’s Break with Europe Puts Russia On Course to Become Again a Marginal and Unattractive Muscovy, Nevzlin Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, April 3 – In his latest foreign policy concept paper, Putin describes Russia as “an original state-civilization,” Leonid Nevzlin says, a vision that ignores the fact that had Russia not become integrated into European political and cultural life in the past, it would have remained and could become again the marginal and unattractive country of Muscovy.

            In fact, the Israel-based Russian commentator says, “the transformation of Moscow into a cultural and political center is inextricably linked with Europe.” And had that not happened or were it to be split off again, Russia would be “a dull territory with a bleak population … without prospects for the future” (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=642A5E0E21625).

            Everything that Russia gave birth to and gave the world was “concentrated in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the 18^th and 20^th centuries” and was the result of “the penetration of European culture and education into Russian life,” Nevzlin says.

            “If one takes Russia out of Europe or takes Europe out of Russia” as Putin seems committed to do, “the rest will perhaps be original, but it won’t be attractive just as Muscovy wasn’t and will slowly decay in the role of an alien satellite to Chinese civilization” given that the Muscovites won’t become their own kind of Chinese.