The Bear's Back

When asked who would replace the U.S. in regulating world markets, he said: "Two countries could assume this role: China, with its vast reserves, and Russia, which could play the role of a regulator in Eurasia."

That's from an article I found on Drudge, quoting a Russian analyst. When I got to the "who's going to rule the world" question, I literally said, "Yeah, take a guess," and then I read the word "Russia," and smiled.

"The role of regulator." Sure. More like Master of the Universe.

With the Russians, it's always the same. Meddling, scheming, and hungry for power.

This particular analyst believes the United States is collapsing and will split into 6 different countries, separated along racial and political lines. One of the new countries will be found in the northern states where he says "the influence from Canada is strong."

Good one. A strong Canadian influence in the northern United States? Russians are hilarious.

The analyst goes on to say that the Russians could reclaim Alaska, saying that the state was only granted on a lease.

If this kind of talk doesn't sound familiar, it should. The Russians were always good at this stuff. In fact, a lot of what Russia is doing these days should ring bells.

From the AP:

Russian warships arrived off Venezuela's coast Tuesday in a show of strength aimed at the United States as Moscow seeks to expand its influence in Latin America.

Maybe I'm just an old Cold Warrior, but I never believed a word of that perestroika stuff, at least as it was applied to politics. Even in high school I knew they were full of it. That Gorbachev-the-hero-of-freedom garbage is just that: trash. He just happened to be around when the house fell in. If the USSR's economy hadn't imploded, the Berlin Wall would still be standing.

The USSR engaged in more "freedoms" during the 1980s not because they thought democracy was a desirable goal, but because they were going broke. Though remembered as political themes today, perestroika and glasnost were economic terms, and had nothing to do with freedom of speech or free elections. Those came later, and were a byproduct of the crippled bear trying to get back on its feet. Didn't work.

It cannot be stressed enough that Russian heavies do not trust democracy. Why would they? They have no tradition of it. Before almost a century of Communist rule, they lived under a monarchy. To any Russian over the age of 35, voting is still weird. To any former KGB agent (like, say, Vladimir Putin) it's downright scary. Let the peasants run the country? You must be nuts.

Now, take all of that and blend it with the knowledge that before 1989, every Russian was taught that the Americans were an evil people, and that their decadent capitalist ways were shameful and needed to be eradicated. What do you get? A "liberal" like Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. From CBS:

Appearances can be deceiving. Six months ago, when Dmitry Medvedev was inaugurated as Russia’s new president, many hoped there would be a thaw in U.S.-Russia relations.

The soft-spoken lawyer has never worked for the KGB. His reputation as a liberal seemed to contrast sharply with his predecessor, Vladimir Putin.

Yes, it did. And it didn't matter. He's an old school Russian. He was raised on anti-Western borscht.

Russia's bigshots have given their psuedo-democracy a ride for almost twenty years and guess what? They don't like it. Further to that, they'd love to see the USA and her allies on their knees. Payback's a bitch.

The CBS report goes on:

Putin had a reputation for being tough, but it was under Medvedev that Russia used excessive force against Georgia, occupying part of its territory and crushing its military. Medvedev then defied world opinion by accusing the United States of instigating the war and by recognizing the independence of Georgia's two separatist regions.

The Cold War rhetoric continued with the Kremlin blaming the United States for the global financial crisis.

"Russia has warned many times of the potentially negative situation that had built up in the American financial system, and that has now transformed into a full-scale international financial crisis," Medvedev said.

Hey, hey. There's the Russia I remember. Swallowing European states, sending in the tanks and blaming the US for it, then bashing American capitalism as an evil system destined for failure.

Good to see you, old buddy. How was your hibernation?