Good Monday evening. This is Daniel Allott with The Hill's Top Opinions.
While some Russia analysts argue that it's wishful thinking to believe that Russia can be defeated without putting U.S. troops on the ground, political science professor ALEXANDER J. MOTYL believes Russia under Putin is effectively defeating and destroying itself from within.
To understand where Russia is headed, writes Motyl, look not just at what the U.S. or Ukraine can do to Russia but also at the situation inside Russia's itself.
"The reality is that Russia – as a state and as a regime – is profoundly weak," he writes.
"The economy, one of the world's least impressive performers, is in a tailspin. The much-vaunted army has proven to be a paper tiger. The society is increasingly dissatisfied with declining living conditions, growing numbers of body bags, and the regime's indifference to the fact that at least 65,000 Russian soldiers reportedly have died and at least as many are out of commission."
Moreover, "the Russian Federation's many non-Russian nations are getting visibly restive." In fact, it's plausible that these peoples will arise and demand independence from Russia.
"There is no need for the West to invade or actively promote strategic defeat," insists Motyl, who teaches at Rutgers University-Newark and is a specialist on Ukraine, Russia and the USSR. "All that's needed is a continuation of the status quo: Ukrainian military success, Western support of Ukraine and Russia's internal decay.
Indeed, writes Motyl, "There's little for the West to do but sit back … and watch Putin's fascism go up in flames."
READ Motyl's op-ed here.
Not subscribed to The Hill's Top Opinions? Sign up here.
No comments:
Post a Comment