At Emotional Level, Russians Support War Out of Fear Ukrainians Could Live Better than They Do, Gallyamov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Jan. 2 – “The true roots” of the negative attitudes of Russians who support Putin’s war in Ukraine is a fear that Ukrainians are “an alter ego” of the Russians who may show Russians up by making choices that will allow them to live better than Russians will and thus represent an attack on Russian self-conceptions, Abbas Gallyamov says.

            The former Putin speechwriter says that such Russians “deep down have long suspected that all their attempts to build a life according to standards different from Western ones are doomed to failure” and that failure will be highlighted by Ukrainian successes in particular (t.me/abbasgallyamovpolitics/3656 reposted at echofm.online/opinions/korni-konflikta-lezhat-imenno-zdes)..

            In short, Gallyamov continues, “’patriotic’ Russians” fear that any Ukrainian success will “undermine” Russian ideals and show them and the world that Russians are “fools who have been marching in the completely wrong direction for years and even decades,” the most profound reason why Russians accept Putin’s argument that Ukraine must be brought to heel.

            “I think the roots of the conflict lie here,” he argues. “Russian ‘patriots’ are worried not by the fact that Ukrainians wanted to secede and live separately … but by the fear that they might start living better,” something totally “unacceptable” to Russians because in their mind, Ukrainians, unlike the Balts, are so like Russians.

            But since no official can publicly admit that this emotional reaction is the true cause of the conflict, Gallyamov insists, the powers that be can’t transform the current military action into “a patriotic war.’” They can’t portray Ukrainians as an existential threat, and therefore Russians understand “deep down” that “this conflict is optional.”

            And they also suspect that “as soon as the Russians do fall behind the Ukrainians, the war will end” because the Russians will give up on the Ukrainians and say “good riddance” to all of them. But the consequences for Russians and their self-conception are so great that they may not be willing to acknowledge and accept that this has happened.