#5
The Sunday Telegraph (UK)
18 November 2001
The truth behind Putin's smile
By Anne Applebaum
VLADIMIR PUTIN, former KGB agent, now Russian president, has just spent two days at George Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. He and his wife, Lyudmilla, were reported to have enjoyed a "lovefest of backslapping and wisecracking". They were pleasantly surprised by the "homey" atmosphere, and enjoyed their steak-and-catfish barbecue. But although it is touching to see one of our busier international statesmen enjoying himself so thoroughly, Putin's behaviour in Texas ought to raise a few questions as well. Why is he doing this? What does he expect get out of it?
It isn't just the hyper-cheerful meeting in Crawford which needs explanation, of course, but all of President Putin's behaviour for the past two months, which is far more extraordinary than most realise. When asked to name the country which poses the greatest threat to Russia, the majority of Putin's compatriots still say "the United States of America". Much of Russia's security establishment feels the same way: only last week, 18 top brass signed an open letter of protest against the new direction of Russian foreign policy. It is now clearer than ever that Putin went over their heads when he rang George Bush on September 11 to tell him that "we are with you".
Since then, Putin himself has led the policy of strategic rapprochement with the United States, dragging his generals kicking and screaming behind him. Putin made them hand over intelligence about Afghanistan, and open up bases in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to American troops. Unprompted, he also ordered them to close Russian intelligence-gathering bases in Cuba and Vietnam, provoking howls about "one-sided sacrifices" in the Russian press.
Many believe that the explanation for Putin's bravado can be found in Russia's raison d'etat, and there is something to this. By taking America's side, Putin won himself a larger role in future decisions about Nato expansion, greater influence in missile defence negotiations, and a better shot at entering the World Trade Organisation on favorable terms. And yet Putin's commitment to America's war on terrorism was made so abruptly, and is so clearly personal, that I suspect it comes from something deeper: his racism. Or - since racism is a harsh word - perhaps it is better to say that his commitment comes from his deep belief that the greatest threat to Russia now comes not from the West and Nato, but from the South and Islam.
If the world is going to be divided, in other words, he wants to be on the side of the North. The Russian president apparently said as much in a speech he gave to top military officers last week, just before his departure for Crawford. He has also spoken in the past of how much he was influenced by the war in Chechnya, the war which brought him to power. Chechnya, apparently, is where he first understood how profoundly civilisations can clash. Putin shares these views with his countrymen, who never did have the American or British government's qualms about discriminatory treatment of Muslims - often referred to in Russia as "blacks". Muslim traders in Russia have always been harassed, and lately they've been attacked by angry mobs, just as in the pogroms of the past.
None of which makes President Putin a worse military ally, but it might make him a more awkward friend. When we tell the world's Muslims that our war isn't against them, we'd better make sure our Russian partners are acting as if they believe it.
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