In order to achieve genuine cooperation, it will be necessary to develop a complete and more thorough understanding of Russia’s policy goals and its motivations in achieving them. This comprehensive understanding should be prevalent throughout the highest levels of western governments. By reading between the lines, much of the Western leadership will begin to realize that Russia is in fact a reasonable and predictable actor and understand that there were motives and reasons behind the recent violence in Georgia—it wasn’t simply blind imperialist tendencies worthy of VP Dick Cheney’s blatant condemnation as “illegitimate and unilateral”. In fact, concepts such as the protection of Russians abroad (in this case South Ossetia and Abkhazia) has been a central theme of Russian foreign policy for years and it should not have come as such a surprise to the West (or to Georgia) that Russia would react accordingly in the event of an attack on those
citizens.

Proposals such as missile defense in Eastern Europe or seemingly perpetual NATO expansion to Russia’s borders, and double standards in the application of the international principle of sovereignty may not seem threatening when applied individually, but simultaneously they lead to legitimate Russian concerns of encirclement and distrust. The distrust was advanced in the case of missile defense when the United States rejected Putin’s surprise offer of a Russian-leased radar site at Qabala, Azerbaijan to assist in the U.S. plan. Furthermore, talks of expelling or suspending Russia from the G-8 would give those concerns of encirclement a tangible dimension.

Various Russian authority figures have labeled missile defense, recognition of Kosovo, and NATO expansion as serious, or “red line” issues. Since the relentless western pursuit of these issues would realistically yield relatively little practical importance to the West, it is worth looking into the idea of making some concessions in exchange for cooperation on larger issues, where possible. Hardliners, however, should not confuse concessions with appeasement or backing down, as western relations with Russia are not a zero-sum game.

In understanding Russian concerns of encirclement, the West needs to reevaluate and reconsider the importance of Georgian ascension into the NATO alliance. Instead of backing ‘gung-ho’ expansion to include Georgia, a country in which there is one ruling party and a non-existent free press, the NATO allies need to consider the security guarantees provided by Article 5 of the Washington Treaty: “an attack on one is an attack on all”. In other words, an attack on Georgia, or even another retaliation from a preemptive Georgian attack could potentially drag the entire NATO alliance into conflict and bring both regional and widespread destabilization. The alliance needs to assess whether or not pushing for expansion in the near future would yield positive results for regional stability in the near term.

Good things can and will come from genuinely friendly relations with Russia.. The world witnessed the success of the Six Party Talks in persuading North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. These multilateral, diplomatic efforts can be successfully applied to other states whose leaders seem to have a one-track mind. They show the positive outcomes of situations when Russia is incorporated into the negotiation process. Many politicians in the West, especially in the United States in the election year, talk of energy independence from Russia. Alternative sources include the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) or Nabucco (proposed) pipelines and by investing in alternative fuels, but the fact remains: Russian oil and gas are still king and will remain the among most important energy sources for years to come.

This is evidenced by two facts. First, Russia supplied 50 of the EU’s gas and 25% of its oil as of 2006. Second, Russia has passed Saudi Arabia as the number one producer of crude oil, producing about 9.5 million barrels a day. Therefore, Russia’s vast resources will continue to be a powerful influence over many western economies, especially European economies, for the foreseeable future.

Looking at various problems through Russian eyes and understanding motivations of Russia’s foreign policy are absolutely paramount to achieving lasting cooperation. The next step is realizing that some current western policies are indeed pushing Russia’s wrong buttons—and pushing them all at the same time. If we truly aim to solve the current multitude of pressing international issues, governments around the world need to get over the Cold War mindset and seek to develop comprehensive and honest West-Russian cooperation.

1. Missile Defense (MD).

Russia seems to worry about the MD deployment in Eastern and Central Europe for both practical and theoretical reasons. First, the equipment deployed in the region is the “eye,” “ear,” and probably “brain” of the greater aerial (and outer-space) defense system in Europe. As Russia will not share the system, the deployment will cause destabilization of defense equilibrium in the Greater Europe (from the Atlantic to the Urals). Such imbalance, from Moscow’s point of view, redraws political picture between Russia and the US in Europe and the Middle East. Of course, NATO is already superior to Russia in many dimensions of military aspects. However, missile defense (if works) is the Shield of Aegis which comprehensively protects the already-mighty Athena. If Athena becomes unjustly mad, how will we stop her?

Second, the deployment is treated in both Poland and the Czech Republic as a symbol of special trans-Atlantic relationship. Some political analysts claim that such Atlanticism divides Europe into two and the coordination between NATO and the EU will be more difficult.. Some extremists further claim that this division of Europe is the overachieving strategic goal for the United States. While I personally disagree with both statements, I see the political implementation of the deployment in the region. After all, the missile defense system has not yet worked out. Political will from both Poland (or the Czech Republic) and the US seems to drive this deployment. From Moscow’s point view, it can have a domino effect towards Ukraine.

Obama has made clear that he has not yet given a “go” sign to the MD deployment. Many speculates that the motive of this cautiousness comes from his new policy towards Russia, and others claim that he simply does not want to spend unnecessary money.

2. Nuclear Arsenals.

Obama envisions to drastically reduce the US nuclear arsenals to promote peace in the world. While such action can strengthen the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty) implementation, Obama’s stance on willingness to talk with Iran may be viewed as compromise in front of such unilateral reduction. As being a Japanese, I never disagree such promising non-nuclear world. However, multilateral reduction including Russia, if possible, is the best case scenario without doubt.

Further, the exception was made for India regarding (civil) nuclear technology transfer at the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency). Is this exception applicable to, say, Nepal? If we trust India, but not Nepal, we must have legal reason for such distinction. So far, the IAEA decision seems to be political and economical rather than moral or legal. If this all nuclear policy is based on power politics, can we legitimize the nuclear control by the IAEA or other organizations? Obama has been criticizing the Bush administration taking the path of power politics, and talks about “change.” Then, Obama and his administration must present tougher (or at least standardized) criteria on nuclear regulation, in order to obtain maximum effect from nuclear force reduction.

Regarding the US-Russian relationship, there are several unsolved issues on oil trade, Georgia, free market, WTO membership, human rights for journalists, the CFE (Conventional Armed Forces in Europe) Treaty, and so on. We continue to observe what agreements those two young leaders will reach.

First of all, I give my sincere sympathy toward those who lost family, friends, and houses. Regardless of their nationality, we need to help those victims of power politics. Moreover, I pray for those who lost their lives in the madness of humankind – war. Today, the way to the heaven is clouded by the Georgians, Ossetians, and even Russians who believed their leaders were doing the right thing. Those who lost lives are not guilty of this chaos: let us forgive them.

Second aspect I would like to point out is that “right” or “wrong” means little in a war. Even if the Georgian act of “retaking” South Ossetia is “right,” this “rightness” diminishes in front of the massive casualty. Given the fact Russia has more tanks, ships, airplanes, and soldiers than Georgia, this operation in South Ossetia was a tactical and strategic mistake (even immoral, I think). Moreover, Tbilisi, hours before the attack, declared the cease fire unilaterally and broke it in the morning of 8th August. There are some reports that the Russian Air Force bombed small villages before the Georgian attack took place (and thus, implying legitimate retaliation). Yet, the remaining fact is that Tbilisi committed military actions hours AFTER the cease fire declaration (which was not officially accepted by South Ossetia) and the operation was conducted without prior diplomatic efforts with the United Nations.

Third, Russia has the right to intervene as there are many Russian citizens in South Ossetia. I am not going to legitimize the Russian position on the “peacekeeping” role: that is a different issue. But, one thing for sure is that as Russian citizens in South Ossetia were attacked by Georgia, Russia has the right to protect them. Once again, there is possibility that Russia provoked Georgia. Even so, Georgia should have considered that Russia would attack once Georgia launched offensive operations.

Lastly, some assume that Tbilisi was expecting stronger international support, possibly military intervention by NATO. However, as all political leaders were in Beijing attending the Olympic ceremony, such assumption seems fragile. On the contrary, Tbilisi might have assumed that Russia would react slowly given the Olympic condition. Prime Minister Putin, however, was in Moscow.

At last, Russia does not have the right to overthrow the Georgian government. As Russia had been the one who accused the American approach in Iraq, Russia should know at least on the rhetoric. That said, the fact Georgia attacked South Ossetia without prior diplomatic consensus with the United Nations puts Georgia in a weak position. This was NOT a unilateral invasion by Russia into Georgia as anti-Russian media reports. It was a military conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia in which Russian citizens were involved. It looks like an invasion because the Russian Army and Air Force were overwhelming. Russia even moved the Black Sea Fleet for economic sanction against Georgia. As Georgia ceased fire, such aggressive actions by Russia are no longer necessary. Thus, it is high time to negotiate and to start the reconstruction of the “society of the people” – not the “territory of (some) nationals.”

After losing the glare offensive, the five soldiers of her hand started creeping towards me. These soldieries were not communists any more, if they were, they would have imprisoned me by now. I can feel the vibration, caused by her creeping hand, falling into my bones. Although her hand is yet to touch mine; the oscillation of that heart-soothing near-future has made my hand to frustratingly wont for a passionate hug of that slender-finger neighbor. I desire to alter the coldness of my hands with the coolness of hers and it is not impossible. There is no one else breathing in this little hut of a bus stop and our hearts are anxiously excited to listen to each other’s beats.

But far away, in the deep hollows of my past, there is another heart, which has imprisoned my intentions. That heart has lived in my chest for countless heartbeats and I can’t ignore it.

It is Mia’s heart. My wife’s heart.

Trembling winter. Lonely afternoon. Muddy clouds. Some melancholic rays peeping through those dusty cornflakes in the sky.

Death faced skyscrapers. A road polluted with clumsy vehicles. Countless worn-out faces rolling on the road. Silently breathing hearts. Eyes fed up with monotony. Venomous minds. Incarcerated souls and frail bodies carrying the burden of a forced freedom____ This is Moscow. 1988.

I was born here and grew up here, under the dark daylight of the red sun. This red sun was there for everyone, whether one needed it or not. It was everywhere, in your house, your bedroom, your entire life and even in your thoughts. It never set anyone free. So many juvenile faces, novel ideas and enthralling dreams were burnt to ashes in this sun. Nothing could evade the red sun, not even the night.

I was also a part of this system. Who am I? Well, my introduction remains in constant use of millions of people in this world; “I am a common man.” And along with all those millions of common men, I lived in this system where we labored our lives. Carrying the burden of a compulsive freedom on our shoulders, we were transferred from youth to old age, and from old age to demise. At numerous occasions death separated the youth from old age. Our minds, our thoughts had so unfeelingly become a part of all this. Days, dates, years, all meaningless. Our time scale was the amount of work done by us. How many shoes made, how many cartons packed, how many radios loaded, and how many abuses assimilated. We were all inebriated. The dream of change was buried in the grave of our stomachs. And yet, in such suppressive conditions, an eccentric thing happened; instead of my mind; my heart revolted. In this atmosphere of belligerence and hatred, my heart opted for tolerance… and love.

She was beautiful; and full of life. She was strenuously breathing in this suffocating air. She had a smile dancing on her lips that would make me smile. She had eyes where I could see my dreams. She had voice that would disquiet my heartbeat. But most of all, she had feet that were treading towards me. Heavenly romantic. She was eager to step into my life, I don’t know why. I had nothing to give to her.

An aged room stuck into countless other lifeless rooms of a rotten building. Staring monotony. Intoxicated silence. Deceased air. Resentful walls. A wounded window. A colorless curtain waging a lost war against the firing snowflakes. A screaming, yelling wall clock. A repulsive towel. A pile of deformed suite-cases. A withered umbrella hanging on the hook. A clumsy picture making faces at me. A paralyzed bed. A tired pair of shoes sneaking from underneath the bed. A shelf sheltering a sorrowful row of ancient crockery. A faint effort of the bulb to lit up the room. A solitary chair sentenced a life imprisonment in these walls____ Nothing.
However, I had learnt to love. She taught me how to. I could fill her with love; touching her eyes with mine, driving my fingers through her hair, whispering my laughter in her ears. She would spread her tiny little complains with her head on my shoulder. We would aimlessly talk while walking on a deserted road in a tranquil evening. I would sing her songs in my gauche voice and she would disperse her melodious laughter in the air. I had planned everything. And along with this, I had also saved enough money to fulfill many of her innocent wishes.

And then, on a glistening day, she stepped into my world and became my world. There were just eighteen guests participating in our wedding. Ten of them were my factory worker friends; six of Mia’s friends and two were our combined, uniformed best wishers. Yes, the KGB. We had no one to call ‘ours’ but these few. After a short and simple ceremony, our friends departed us joking and laughing, while the KGB guests bid us farewell staring and glaring. They wanted to see us off to our bedroom door, I am sure. But I was not bothered by anything any more. I had found Mia. She was full of life and she pervaded me with it.
I didn’t buy her a wedding gift. I couldn’t find anything as incredible as her. So I decided to ask her.

“Mia! I know you must be expecting a gift from me on our wedding night. I hate to disappoint you but the fact is that I couldn’t buy you a gift. Not because I didn’t have enough money or that I couldn’t remember but because I couldn’t find something as gorgeous as you are. Everything looked dull compared to you. So I thought I better ask you. I’ll get you whatever you want.”

“You’ll get me whatever I ask you to?”

“Yes” I whispered with certainty.

“No matter how expensive, how difficult?”

“Yes.”

“Then listen. You don’t get tired of me. This will be your gift.”

“What you mean?”

“I don’t know why am I thinking this, but you get tired of looking at me every day, or when I get old and would cease to be beautiful, would you leave me, and not even look at me?”

“No, it won’t happen. I’ll never get tired of looking at you every day. And when you get old, so would I. And you’ll always be beautiful in my eyes.”

“Promise?”

“Yes promise.”

At that moment, she looked to me like a little girl. In a stormy night, afraid of lightning and thunderbolt, hiding in a corner, scared and trembling little girl. I assured her there was nothing to be afraid of. Storms, lightning, darkness, nothing could hurt her.
“I am with you, all around you.”

She turned my room into a home. I suggested of buying a little house but she insisted on living in that room until two of us turn into three. And I agreed with her. In this little home of one room, we lived very close to each other, without any distance. You must be thinking how and for how long could two people living in such a small accommodation tolerate each other. Believe you me; Mia and monotony are the names of two firmly and utterly opposite things. Mia is simply astounding. Every day she would put such a thought in front of me that I would be bewildered. She would ask questions that would leave me speechless. She would make such childish requests that the entire building would resound with my laughter.

One night, she was sitting in the chair sewing a button on one of my shirts and I was lying sideways on the bed reading a book. When suddenly, she put the shirt on the chair and lied down behind me the same way as I was. Placing her face right beside mine, our cheeks caressing, she held the book from where I was holding it.

“What is this?” I asked politely.

“Nothing. Just!”

“Just what? I am reading dear.”

“Then read, whose stopping you?”

“But what’s this all about?”

“I wanna read this book too.”

“Then read it when I am finished with it.”

“No, I wanna see how it feels the way you read it.”

And I was lost.

She was an expert on unexpectedly starting a mind twisting conversation. While experiencing silence or right in the middle of a chat, she would abruptly ask outlandish questions.

“Are you happy?”

And I, perplexed, could only utter, “What you mean?”

“I mean, are you happy living with me?”

“That’s a stupid question. And anyway I should be asking this question because I am the one who proposed you.”

“Then why don’t you ask?”

“What? should I ask it every day now?”

“No, but at least once in a while.”

“All right honey, tell me, are you happy living with me?”

“Alllooottt !”

And I was flabbergasted.

One day when I came back from work, she invaded me with a question as soon as I appeared from the door.

“Why don’t you twist my ear?”

“Are you crazy, you think I am mad or something? Why would I ever do that?”

“Well, last night while picking up the dishes from the table, I broke a plate and you said nothing to me.”

“And you want me to twist your ear on such a petty little thing?”

“At least you could chide me.”

“Ok, my fault. Next time I will.”

“Then do it.”

“What!”

“I broke another cup today.”

“That’s ok, I’ll get a new one tomorrow.”

“So you are not going to chide me?”

“No way, not on this one.”

“Then what am I supposed to do to make you chide me?”

“But why do you want me to chide you?”

“Because then you’ll say sorry to me.”

And laughter burst out of my stomach.

I could easily tell my friends that I have married a riddle.

But it wasn’t her; it was the system and the atmosphere in which we lived. In such a breath-hindering air, she was not only living but was keeping me alive as well. She had kept alive that precious feeling of love that had died in us. To remain alive in such a breathless air, she needed me and I desired her. That’s why I never got tired of her strange acts. I couldn’t leave her alone. If I had left her alone, I would have become alone as well.

Then one day, this system left me no option but to hate it and stand up in revolt against it. Mia was pregnant. She was facing a delivery situation. I rented a car to take her to hospital. We were both delighted. Everything looked fresh and new again. I hadn’t yet reached the main road when two policemen stopped me. They told me that I couldn’t go ahead. On my humble inquiry they told me that a member of the Politburo was to travel through this road so the passage was closed for general public. I informed them of my irresistible compulsion but they were earless. Justice is deaf in our part of the world. In response to my pleading, however, they had mercy on me enough to guide me to an alternate passage yet at the same time informed me that the road was under construction.

I considered it a blessing and turned the vehicle towards the alternative. That road was like highway to hell, full of ditches. I was trying my best to drive carefully so that Mia doesn’t get hurt, but it was all in vain. All those bumps and jumps; and Mia was in sheer pain. I would look at the road for one moment and would turn to Mia the next. I was continuously consoling her but I knew words would do no good. I never felt so much helpless in my life and I hated all this helplessness. I don’t want to go through all that misery again by stating the pains waged on Mia. All I can tell you is that this dreadful journey had a terrible ending. I couldn’t become a father and Mia, after hanging in balance between life and death, was deprived of ever becoming a mother again.

I entered the hospital room that was mourning the death of my dreams. Mia looked at me and tears sneaked through her eyes. In a torn voice, she started apologizing to me.

“I am sorry dear, you can’t be a father…”

I put my fingers on her lips.

“No, don’t say sorry. Its stupid. Rather I should thank you.”

“Why?” her eyes asked.

“Because you have come back.”

A soft smile appeared in her eyes. She wanted to say something but I stopped her. And then I kept on combing her hair with my fingers until she went to sleep.

If this system was some person, I would have killed it by now. It tortured me, refrained me from living a life of my own, but I never cared because I don’t care about myself much. I don’t care who does what to me. But Mia, these people harmed Mia and I care about her. I care about her more than anything in this world. I forgot every injustice ever done to me but I could never forgive the tyranny inflicted upon Mia.

That’s where I revolted against this red system. After taking the first step of revolt, I felt that numerous people were waiting for that first step. I only remained alone till the first step and then I was thronged with myself, the common man. We ejected the fear out of people’s hearts. The lava of emotions was given way and it melted that system to ashes. The country that had stretched the largest darkness on earth had lost its spell. The people living under the red sun found freedom; a freedom of their own.

The red sun had set.

During this revolution I couldn’t pay much attention to Mia. I had to hide in different places to avoid KGB. When I would go home with a break of few days, I found Mia waiting for me as if she knew the time of my coming home. She had become very weak. There were dark shades around her eyes. Her cheeks started losing their freshness. Bones started to peep through her round wrists. The shine in her eyes seemed to have gone quite some distance. And her smile was left on her lips only as her job. In spite of all this, she was still my Mia.

Once, when I came home after some days, I found a completely different Mia. A sad Mia. I could never see her sad.

“Mia, what’s wrong? Are you in trouble?”

“No, I am ok.”

“Then why you look so sad, so withered?”

“No, you are mistaken. I am just tired, nothing else.”

“Are you happy?”

“Yes.”

“Then why don’t you look happy?”

“I am happy, how else should I look?”

“No, I don’t see that joy on your face. I want to see your face full of life and happiness.”

“I am happy”, she said tiredly. But I couldn’t leave her like this.

“Tell me, what I should do to bring those smiles back again, to make your soul happy.”

“You really want me to tell you?”

“Yes, tell me. I’ll bring whatever you want.”

“No, I don’t desire a purchasable thing. All I want is… I want to stand right in front of you, so close that we feel our breaths hitting our faces, our hearts listen to each other’s beats, our eyes play together, your whispers vibrate my body, and I, taking your hands into mine, thrusting our fingers together, taking a deep breath, would scream so loud that all the tiredness inside me, all the sadness will vanish in the air.”

I knew the answer to her wish but I couldn’t say what I should have.

“Mia, I understand your pain but I have obligations. I have to be careful. The path that I have opted for, either leads to freedom or death. But believe me, we will be free soon. We will throw this blood-polluted system out of our lives for ever and then good times will come.”

I took off again to my destination. I knew after that incident Mia was very upset but I was doing all this for her, wasn’t I?
When the red sun was set, a bright new sun rose at us with a shining light. Its sunlight wasn’t red. It didn’t pinch. It shone to give us relief and warmth. But with the passage of time this sun also started throwing its hot spears at us. Its light only proved to be a sparkling darkness, which attracted us but failed to comfort us.

This system wasn’t flawless either. The government of the people couldn’t do good to the people itself. There might have been a change of system, but for us, the common men, it only brought “another government”. Too much freedom didn’t bring us too much prosperity. It became more and more difficult to make both ends meet. I lost my job and I would wander like a dog in search of work. Mia got sick because of malnutrition. I would come home late in the night and would get out early in the morning. We were running our lives somehow. There wasn’t much of a conversation between Mia and me. Perhaps there wasn’t anything left to talk about.

And then in such compellingly disappointing conditions, I found Tina. Even under these conditions she was full of life, breathing with all the energy. She wasn’t very beautiful but she was definitely very attractive. So it was natural for me to take interest in her but what surprised me was that she was attracted to me as well. I met her with reference of finding a job. She gave me the job and her company. I don’t know why, even though she was married.

This job was better. I was being paid well. She would take me to places every day, to cinema, coffee house or sometimes for nothing. Her husband worked in another city. It was her second marriage. She got divorced by her first husband; or she divorced him would be even more correct. She didn’t recall her present husband in good words either. Quite often she would reveal upon me the dark sides of her husband’s personality and I just listened silently.

In the mean time, Mia kept on getting farther and farther away from me. She never asked me where I stayed all night, where I worked all day, where I got the money from. She kept on doing house chores, quietly. May be her words were out of stock or may be she forgot how to talk. But I couldn’t feel all this. And even if I did, I suppressed the very thought of it in the graveyard of my heart where my love was sleeping. I was too busy spending the time with my boss.

With the passage of time, Tina’s conversations turned into passionate whispers. And I kept on drowning into the sea of her talking lips. I never tried to swim, resist or take control of myself. I left all of me on the waves of emotional mistakes, no matter where they take me.

And today, she is ready to swim me away. She is sitting very close to me. She tries to touch my hand with hers but I hesitate and put my hand in my lap.

“Give me your hand, I want to mix it with mine.”

I lost my strength for a moment, but then the very next moment a well-acquainted voice resounded from the unfathomable vacant of my heart. Mia’s voice. She asked me for such a favor once, but how innocently, not so professionally like her. Mia asked it for the comfort of her soul and she…….

Should I sacrifice Mia’s sincerity over Tina’s outwardly attraction? Should I forget all those innumerable moments spent with Mia for the sake of temporary pleasure? Should I betray Mia’s blind folded trust for a selfish wish of mine? No. Never.
I am running towards my home. On a distorted road, my feet are getting shaky but not my heart. I have nothing to give to Mia. My pockets are almost empty. But my heart is filled with love. I will give Mia the pleasure, the happiness. A happiness that would reflect on her face. I will get her back her long lost shining eyes, her smiles, her vigor, her innocence, her childish mischief, everything.

I enter the house. Mia is busy washing clothes. I grab her from her shoulders and make her stand right in front of me, so close that we feel our breaths hitting our faces, our hearts listen to each other’s beats, or eyes play together, and I, taking her hands into mine, thrust our fingers together.

At this moment with a loud scream, our entire tiredness and our sadness has vanished into the air.

————————————————————————————————————–

This short story was originally written in Urdu; has been published in magazine a number of times and has won best short story award. It is also up for short film production.

NATO has been a military organization to plan tactics and strategy against any hostile nation. Its imagined or probable enemies were the Soviet Union and its Warsaw allies. In the 1980s, NATO became a channel of bi-lateral negotiations on arms control between the United States and the Soviet Union. One example for such function is the Treaty on the Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (the CFE Treaty). This treaty restrained the possession of conventional arms, namely tanks, armed combat vehicles, artillery, combat aircrafts, and combat helicopters. By 1995, regardless of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the reunification of Germany, the ceiling on the number of arms enforced by the CFE Treaty was fairly observed. By this statistics, people assumed that Europe became a peaceful theater of economic and political cooperation.

Europe, however, has never been “arms free.” Even with the positive results from the CFE Treaty, a close analysis on the treaty itself gives an alternative view. First, no naval arms were restricted by the CFE Treaty or any other treaties (except a few types of nuclear cruse missiles). Anti-submarine nuclear depth charge, submarine launched nuclear missiles, aircraft carriers, naval aviations… those are the technological advantages of the United States and its NATO allies, never limited. Second, by the membership of Denmark and Turkey into NATO, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea are “choked” by NATO-friendly ports of Copenhagen and Istanbul respectably. These two points above guarantee NATO’s strategic advantage over any navies in the world. Third, with this NATO’s supremacy on the sea and NATO’s capacity of rapid deployment, NATO can transport any quantity and quality of armed forces within a short period of time anywhere in the world. Therefore, it seems that there is little impact of NATO expansion on the Russian national security; without Ukraine and Georgia, NATO can do any hostile actions against Russia if it is willing to do so.

Then, why is NATO expansion necessary? Upon the collapse of the Soviet Union, NATO had to seek out its new mission. Economic and political cooperation has been taken over by the European Union. So, NATO was willing to cooperate with the United Nations to carry out the so-called humanitarian interventions. Additionally, recent “War on Terrorism” has been associated with the idea of collective security guaranteed by NATO charter. NATO is now deeply involved in the both operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Both humanitarian interventions and war on terrorism often focus on the universal peace and freedom of all humanity. Therefore, the more participants such operation has, the higher legitimacy the operation will gain.

From the Russian perspective, NATO expansion into Ukraine and Georgia is more than a strategic loss. Of course, NATO bases across the mountains from Chechnya and NATO naval bases on the nose of the Crimean Peninsula are annoying and future problems can be easily expected. What we should focus here, however, is the Russian pride. Both Ukraine and Georgia were traditionally in the Soviet/Russian bloc. Many nationals in those countries share culture, language, and religion. Participation of such countries into NATO simply means the decline of the Russian influence in the region. Military reality of NATO supremacy described above is one thing, but socio-political decline of Russia is totally another thing.

Russia will not be a part of NATO for a while. Despite the fact that the Soviet Union joined the Gulf War on NATO’s side, Russia prefers to be an alternative patron in Europe to the United States or the European Union. The Russian pride fueled by rich national resource reserves will not easily give up Ukraine and Georgia regardless of the seemingly-determined military inferiority of Russia. Observing the political life of Gorbachev, the admittance of the Russian (or Soviet) loss in international relations, small or big, will put the leader into a miserable collapse of domestic political leadership. Remembering Machiavelli, it is unlikely that Putin or his successors would commit such political suicide.

Regardless how the Western media accuses him, Russians seem to love a strong leader who leads them from the misery of the post-Communist ruin. However, Putin had two big moments or “crises” during his reign: Moscow Theater hostage situation and submarine Kursk explosion. From the PR point of view, the latter incident is unique. Putin remained in holiday for five days before he returned to Moscow. He even admitted later that he should have been back to Moscow as soon as the incident occurred, and yet, this never became even near to a political crisis. Is that because Putin has total control on Russian media? This article provides an alternative view.

The name Kursk is after a city near the German border. Here, the largest tank battle in history, the Battle of Kursk, took place in 1943. Kursk was remembered as pride of Russia: a small planet discovered by the Soviet scientists was also named after this city. When the Soviet Union collapsed, one of the first ships built by independent Russia was Kursk. The name itself possesses melancholy, pride, grief, all mixed together.

As for the incident, people (mainly Russians) knew exactly what happened. Submarine captains were and still are paid somewhere around 200 USD per month. Not many Russians, especially those who went to Moscow State University (MGU) want such kind of a job. Mal-trained, less motivated, and ill-equipped submariners on one hand, and an accident on the other… It was not so hard to connect those two factors together. Some media, particularly the French tabloids, liked to provide provocative conspiracy theories. So far, none of such stories are convincing.

This incident reminded us that Russia has a fleet. Submarine Kursk was as large as a small aircraft carrier. It was equipped with nuclear missiles. Yet, do not go so fast to conclude that Russia is expansionist and its Navy is a tool to expand Russian influence. First of all, when Russian economy goes bad, Navy is the first organization to receive budget cuts. Russia, a massive continental nation, does not need a navy to protect its boarders unlike the UK or Japan. Its capital was strategically moved away from the sea from St. Petersburg to Moscow. Navy’s importance (except the Naval infantry, which is an excellent military organization) is next to Army, Air Force, and Space Agency in Russia. When Russia starts to invest on Navy as we have seen last year, it means that Russian economy is in a good shape. Navy is a barometer of the Russian economy rather than the Russian imperialism.

Second, the Russian Navy, realistically speaking, cannot do any harm against any naval country. The US, for example, can shoot ICBMs (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles) from outside Georgia to Moscow. Russia has to be in the middle of Atlantic to shoot nuclear missiles if Washington is the target. Technological gap in terms of range is enormous. Since the age of the USSR, the Russian or Soviet Navy has been reactionary and defensive. Its main goal is to destroy enemy carriers and submarines which have nuclear capacity. Some Soviet submarines were allegedly able to travel more than 40 knots under the water (usually, 15-25 knots is the range of speed). Sailing under the water with 40 knots is just too noisy and easily detected. Therefore, if one assumes their rationale, such noisy submarines are for the rapid reaction tactics against any naval vessels, without being attacked by anti-submarine aircrafts including helicopters. The Russian Navy is not an offensive force at this stage.

So then, what is the Russian Navy? What does the reaction towards the tragedy of Kursk tell us about future of the Russian Navy? Navy is an expensive but massive and impressive piece of art. Naval vessels, like space shuttles, are the pride of Russia and the evidence of the Russian glory. Putin was able to demonstrate such symbolism among many other symbols to make Russians proud of themselves and their country once again. Kursk was a reminder for Russians that Russia still has a navy. Russia is not a third world country even though Kursk was exploded. At least, Russians can make such massive machines.

This positive interpretation of belief in Russia was the success of Putin. If the same tragedy occurs in any other country, it surely becomes a political scandal. But in Russia, one cannot accuse Putin in any naval matters. Putin equals to the Russian glory which equals to a glorified Navy. If you buy Putin, you have to buy Navy as a symbol of the Russian pride.