September 14, 2012

Romney = Russian for "Cold Warrior"


Romney = Russian for "Cold Warrior"

Mitt Romney doesn't get it.

By launching the flabby Cold War trope that Russia is our "geopolitical adversary," he has exhibited yet another symptom of foot-in-mouth disease on foreign policy (for others, see coverage of his Faux Pas Tour of Europe this summer).

I am in Russia on business, and have been working in and visiting Russia for over 20 years. When I lived here full time in 1989-90, the ice was just breaking; even then the foe we once knew was beginning to open up to the world.

Over the past two decades, with but a few hiccups, Russia has only become increasingly more open to the West, making travel in both directions easier, freeing up its currency, reducing its nuclear stockpiles and military spending, and slowly (ok, really slowly) opening up its political process. Is there still plenty of progress to be made? Absolutely. One would be blind and deaf to reality to conclude anything else. But one would also be naive to not see that, historically speaking, Russia has moved several pegs in the right direction in a very short period of time.

I visited Russia when it was our fiercest foe, in the early 1980s. Then is definitely not now. Then, there was an Iron Curtain, a totalitarian dictatorship and a planned economy. Now there is freedom of travel, speech and a booming (albeit warped) capitalist economy. Russia is a rapidly developing country rich in human and natural resources. Its younger generation has no memory of the Cold War, and is almost more Western than the West itself.

Romney says Russia is our foe because "almost everything we try to do globally they try and oppose."

Welcome to real world, where you can't buy everything you want, where you have to cooperate and collaborate.

This sort of Manichean thinking – where compromise is a dirty word – has locked down Washington. But compromise and negotiation is what people do when they live together in the world.

Does Russia oppose us in things that we want? Absolutely. Why should we expect anything different? So does France, Germany, even Canada, for Canucks' sake. Countries have different national interests. And so they get together to discuss those differences and work toward solutions.

It's called diplomacy.

Everyone I have been talking with on this visit is deeply dismayed by Romney’s rhetoric. It smacks of a black-and-white world that bears no resemblance to the reality they see and experience through the touch screens of their iPads and smartphones.

By posturing and needlessly politicizing US-Russian relations for electoral ends, Romney is hurting American interests. For example, on Syria Putin went down a dead end alley and a wise politician would recognize that he could use a bit of face-saving help to back his way out. Cold War talk makes that sort of maneuver harder, not easier.

Russians like Americans and they love American culture. Thankfully, they also have a pretty good history of separating us from our politicians. If they didn't, I wouldn’t get very many dinner invitations.

And that would not be a good thing.

Cool it, Mitt.

[Photo credit: © Stavros Damos | Dreamstime.com]

 
 
 
 
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.  
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The Frogs Who Begged for a Tsar (bilingual)

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
Russian Rules

Russian Rules

From the shores of the White Sea to Moscow and the Northern Caucasus, Russian Rules is a high-speed thriller based on actual events, terrifying possibilities, and some really stupid decisions.
Murder and the Muse

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.
Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

Steppe / Степь (bilingual)

This is the work that made Chekhov, launching his career as a writer and playwright of national and international renown. Retranslated and updated, this new bilingual edition is a super way to improve your Russian.
Jews in Service to the Tsar
October 09, 2011

Jews in Service to the Tsar

Benjamin Disraeli advised, “Read no history: nothing but biography, for that is life without theory.” With Jews in Service to the Tsar, Lev Berdnikov offers us 28 biographies spanning five centuries of Russian Jewish history, and each portrait opens a new window onto the history of Eastern Europe’s Jews, illuminating dark corners and challenging widely-held conceptions about the role of Jews in Russian history.

Life Stories
September 01, 2009

Life Stories

The Life Stories collection is a nice introduction to contemporary Russian fiction: many of the 19 authors featured here have won major Russian literary prizes and/or become bestsellers. These are life-affirming stories of love, family, hope, rebirth, mystery and imagination, masterfully translated by some of the best Russian-English translators working today. The selections reassert the power of Russian literature to affect readers of all cultures in profound and lasting ways. Best of all, 100% of the profits from the sale of this book are going to benefit Russian hospice—not-for-profit care for fellow human beings who are nearing the end of their own life stories.

At the Circus
January 01, 2013

At the Circus

This wonderful novella by Alexander Kuprin tells the story of the wrestler Arbuzov and his battle against a renowned American wrestler. Rich in detail and characterization, At the Circus brims with excitement and life. You can smell the sawdust in the big top, see the vivid and colorful characters, sense the tension build as Arbuzov readies to face off against the American.

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka
November 01, 2012

Davai! The Russians and Their Vodka

In this comprehensive, quixotic and addictive book, Edwin Trommelen explores all facets of the Russian obsession with vodka. Peering chiefly through the lenses of history and literature, Trommelen offers up an appropriately complex, rich and bittersweet portrait, based on great respect for Russian culture.

93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955