Frankly I am at a loss as to why we have such problems dealing with Russia. This is not something new, it is something that has been going on since before Bolsheviks took over the country and established the Soviet Union which lasted for about three quarters of a century. It seems like it doesn't matter whether it is a Tsar, a cousin of the King of England who is in charge, or some despotic, maniacal sociopath such as Stalin, or a "new" strong man like Putin. We just can't seem to figure out how to deal with Russia.
Tsar Nicholas II, or "cousin Nicky" as the British Royalty called him, was essentially of the same mold as the King of England, one of Queen Victoria's nephews! He was a like-minded soul as far as the West was concerned. Yet, we sided with Japan when Teddy Roosevelt brokered a peace between Russia and Japan over the Russo-Japanese War. We sided with Japan because geopolitics of the time dictated that Russia needed to be cut down to size, it was too big and too powerful. Yet, when war broke out in Europe less than a decade later, the West clamored for Russia to enter the war to help defeat that nasty Kaiser (another one of Victoria's nephews) and save Europe from the "Hun."
Russia was ill prepared to enter any kind of war, let alone a World War, a war to end all wars! Russia was in the midst of domestic turmoil, genuine revolution! Russia's entry into the war was a major disaster for the country and it was forced to pull out when its troops began to refuse to fight, instead wanted to overthrow the regime! So, when the Bolshevik Revolution culminated in a civil war, we, the United States, as well as some European powers, sent troops to Russia to help defeat the Bolsheviks. Of course the Bolsheviks were not defeated and instead the U.S. and the West made an enemy out of the new Russian regime.
Let's see, in 1905 we sided with Japan to "remove some of Russia's teeth," so to speak. We forced Russia to make huge concessions, mainly give up its territory in Manchuria to Japan and abandon its concessions in Korea. Prior to this, Manchuria was known as Russian Manchuria, and Russia was Korea's (Yi Dynasty) ally! We essentially "gave" Manchuria and Korea to Japan. Then, less than two decades later we sent troops to fight the new regime, the Bolsheviks! Although the Bolsheviks were not defeated, we allowed Japan to colonize Sakhalin and the surrounding islands. A little over two decades later we went to war against Japan, the same "ally" to whom we generously gave Russia's Manchuria in 1905, take over Korea, and allowed to colonize Sakhalin in 1918. Europe was ablaze with war against Nazi Germany and Russia, i.e., Soviet Union, becomes our ally! After the defeat of Germany and Japan, the "Iron Curtain" came down and the Cold War began until the fall of the Soviet Union. Now it seems a "new" cold war is in the making. That is essentially a very brief summary of our dealings with Russia since the beginning of the 20th Century.
There is no shortage of "experts" on Russian Affairs in our government. But whether they are the "wrong" kind of experts or simply academics who do not comprehend the Russian mentality, they seem to make wrong calls time and time again! Either that, or our Presidents have not listened to their advice. Whatever the case, we seem to be unable to deal with Russians, unable to anticipate their actions or comprehend their motives.
Vladimir Putin's game is to push as far as he can. He saw early on that our government was not going to respond to some of the more aggressive acts if it meant committing our troops. We did nothing in Syria and waffled over Libya. We did nothing except to threaten and establish some economic sanctions when he first pushed his way into Ukraine. We did nothing when he annexed Crimea. He sees our lack of action and inability to make decisions in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. So he pushes. He knows that the so-called "thin red line" that our President continually draws in the sand can be easily erased!
So now we are deploying 250 tanks around Baltic countries and Eastern Europe. Is that going to change anything? Unless we are willing to have those tanks fire upon Russian positions and troops, nothing has changed. Not a thing. As far as Putin is concerned, it is business as usual. Putin thinks he has our number. Whether that is true or not is immaterial, what is important is what Putin thinks, and Putin thinks he can continue to push.
There are those who say that the problem in dealing with Russians is that their mentality is more Eastern than Western. It may very well be that Russian mentality is more Eastern than Western. Russians are most certainly more fatalistic in their approach to things than Europeans. But the more "Eastern" mind-set should not preclude our ability to deal with them or understand them! After all, there are many Eastern countries with whom we get along quite well, regardless of their mind-set.
The bottom line appears to be that on our side, there seems to be a certain degree of mistrust and lack of respect for Russians. Just look at how Russians are portrayed in our movies and TV shows. They are, for the most part, shown as being crude, vicious, not the nicest people! Some of it may be a hang-over from the cold war, but there is no doubt that most view of Russians is not complimentary. Russians, on the other hand, also view the West and the U.S. with suspicion and mistrust. After all, history has shown that the West has not been kind to them. Most Americans may not know or care about what happened in the early 20th Century or how we have treated Russians through the years. But Russians know and do remember, and you can bet Vladimir Putin remembers history.
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