Ponmala

The death of Mikhail Gorbachev, 31 years after the Soviet hammer and sickle flag was lowered for the last time and replaced by the Russian tricolour, reminded the world for the umpteenth time that democracy is a fragile vessel. Gorbachev alone deserves the credit for the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the decline of communist fascism throughout the world, as its domino effect. Loved by the world and disowned by much of his countrymen, history alone will do justice to this man who had single-handedly changed the course of history.

Gorbachev must have died a disappointed man for reasons that were beyond his pacifist personality. Firstly, he did not want the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He would have prevented it if he could do so without ordering a Tiananmen Square like massacre. All that he wanted was a democratic Soviet Union that was a loose federation of Soviet states, an entity that would be more closely knit than the European Union. In fact, he supported the annexation of Crimea by Russia. Secondly, the democratic values that he wanted to establish in his country through Perestroika (restructuring) and Glasnost (openness) had been practically undone by autocratic Putin as he lay on his death bed. Thirdly, the pacifist in him must have been deeply pained by the destructive and bloody war Russia is waging against Ukraine.

The war against Ukraine is turning out to be a disaster for Russia and for the world as a whole. Putin’s nostalgic move to reestablish the Czarist Russian empire is threatening to take his country back by many years, economically and militarily: Russia is getting isolated globally and the poor performance of its military in Ukraine has already exposed many an inherent weakness. It is causing economic distress to most countries of the world in one way or the other. And it is threatening to spiral out of control and trigger World War III, one which Putin has signalled could become nuclear. If no solution is found early enough, Putin’s misadventure could become a global catastrophe of colossal proportions.

The urge to excel is a primal urge in man. It contains the seed of both destructive fascism and competitive excellence. One or the other gets the upper hand in individuals. Just opposite me are a clump of trees vying to capture the sunlight. In that process, they keep growing taller and taller. That is a healthy competition born out of existential necessity, which does not destroy each other; rather, it helps each other to achieve greater heights. It is the same sort of competition that we find among sportsmen and artists who compete for a prize. When excellence is sought by conquering and subjugating others, it becomes destructive, fascist. The conquests made by people like Alexander the Great, Caesar, Genghis Khan et al fall in that category. They are all still hailed as ‘Great’. Standing among dead warriors in the battle field of Kalinga, Asoka the Great for the first time realised that conquest as an endeavour of excellence was by nature destructive and abhorrable. But it continued unabated.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said: “President Putin is waging this war for one single objective, to seize Ukraine. Self-determination and political independence do not count for him, and there is only one word for it – imperialism, plain and simple. The return of imperialism is a disaster not only for Europe; it is also a disaster for the global peaceful order, which is the antecedent of imperialism and neo-colonialism.” One had thought the dream of imperialist conquests had ended with the Second World War and the independence of European colonies, but Putin seems to be bent on proving that wrong. Nevertheless, looking at it optimistically, the World Wars could be taken as the earthquakes that brought down imperialism and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a powerful aftershock.

The war is going so badly for Russia that Putin was forced to call for military mobilisation. The Ukrainians are fighting to protect their motherland and their democratic way of life. They have invested their emotion in it. The Russians on the other hand are fighting either for money or because they are forced to. That makes a lot of difference for motivation and morale. The main reason for Russia’s humiliating debacle, despite having the world’s second most powerful army, is the low morale of its soldiers, who do not have the will to fight, for which a ruler’s imperialist ambition is hardly a motivating factor these days. People are no more willing to perish in a battle for anything less than a noble or existential cause. Russians are fleeing to other countries to escape compulsory military service. A young man cries, “I don’t want to die for someone else’s ambitions.” Another cries, “What am I going to fight and die for?” A mother cries, “I don’t want to lose my sons. They are sent to kill and to get killed. He wants to kill the sons of other mothers… for what purpose?” The top google search in Russia after the announcement of military mobilisation was “How to get out of Russia?” This popular revulsion against revisionist imperial ambition augurs well for humanity.

Despite periodical setbacks, humanity keeps on progressing on the path of nobler ideals and social practices. Hopefully, Putin will go down in history as the last imperialist, but God alone knows at what price for humanity.