Putin's Wars: The Rise of Russia's New Imperialism, 3rd Edition

The third edition of this acclaimed book offers a systematic analysis of Putin’s three wars, placing the Second Chechen War, the war with Georgia of 2008, and the current war with Ukraine in their broader historical context. Drawing on extensive original Russian sources, Marcel H. Van Herpen analyzes in detail how Putin’s wars have been prepared and conducted, and why they have led to allegations of war crimes and genocide. He shows how the conflicts have attempted to consolidate and legitimate Putin’s regime and explores how they are connected to a fourth, hidden, “internal war” waged by the Kremlin against the opposition. The author convincingly argues that the Kremlin—relying on the secret services, the Orthodox Church, the Kremlin youth “Nashi,” and the rehabilitated Cossacks—is preparing for an imperial revival, most recently in the form of a “Eurasian Union.” An essential book for understanding the dynamics of Putin’s regime, this study digs deep into the Kremlin’s secret long-term strategies. Readable and clearly argued, it makes a compelling case that Putin’s regime emulates an established Russian paradigm in which empire building and despotic rule are mutually reinforcing. As the first comprehensive exploration of the historical antecedents and political continuity of the Kremlin’s contemporary policies, Van Herpen’s work will make a valuable contribution to the literature on post-Soviet Russia, and his arguments will stimulate a fascinating and vigorous debate. Contents Author Note and Acknowledgments Glossary and Abbreviations Introduction Russia: A Post-Imperium? Structure of the Book Part I: Despotism and the Quest for Empire 1. Despotism and the Quest for Empire Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Diderot: Early Critics of Russian Despotism How Lost Wars Led to Short-Lived Reforms The High Expectations of 1989 The Four Roots of Russian Imperialism Russian Despotism and Russian Imperialism: Inseparable Twin Brothers? 2. Comparing Western and Russian Legitimation Theories for Empire Imperialist Legitimation Theories: Christianity, a Superior Civilization, and the White Man’s Burden Social Darwinism: The Primacy of Naked Power Three Russian Legitimation Theories for Imperial Expansion: Orthodoxy, Pan Slavism, and Communism The Symbiosis of Church and State A New Legitimation Theory: Pan Slavism From Pan Slavism to Racism: Pogroms and Anti-Semitism How the Russian Revolution Forged a New Legitimation Theory for Imperialist Expansion 3. Putin and the End of Russian “Empire Fatigue” Empire Fatigue: A Chance of Becoming a “Normal State”? Handling Post-Imperial Pain Two Reactions to the Loss of Empire: To Accept or Not to Accept Pitirim Sorokin and the Eternal Cycle of Ideologies in Revolutions The Use of Nationalist Propaganda by the Leadership In Search of a New Legitimation Theory for a Post-Soviet Empire A New Ideological Triad: Orthodoxy, the Power Vertical, Sovereign Democracy 4. Putin’s Grand Design Back to the USSR? From Commonwealth to the Russia-Belarus Union State A Politically Inspired Customs Union The CSTO: A Mini-Warsaw Pact? The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: A Double-Edged Sword? BRIC, BIC, BRICS, or BRIICS? 5. The Eurasian Union Precursors of the Eurasian Project: Igor Panarin and Aleksandr Dugin Fear of Loss of Sovereignty Eurasian Union versus European Union The Ultimate Goal: The Creation of a “Big Country” Expansionism Even Beyond Former Soviet Frontiers? The Eurasian Union as the Ultimate Integration Effort Bringing Ukraine Back into the Russian Orbit Part II; The “Internal War” 6. Russia as a “Pluralist” One-Party State A One-Party State with Four Parties? East German Communist “Pluralism”: A Model for Putin? The Use of Fake Political Parties Unequalled Election Fraud Mikhail Prokhorov’s Revolt against the Kremlin “Puppeteers” Another Pseudo-Pluralism: The Diarchy at the Top 7. Preaching the Ultranationalist Gospel The Ultranationalism and Revisionism of the Communist Party “Unkulturaufstieg”: The Spread of Ultranationalist Ideas Putin’s “State of the Union”: Touting Patriotism Putin’s “Russian Idea”: State, State, and More State National Rebirth and Consensus Building United Russia’s Electoral Success: A CPSU Effect? The Bear Wants to Fly: How United Russia Got Different Party Wings United Russia’s New Ultranationalist Course Russia’s Frontiers “Are Not Eternal” Russia’s Rebirth 8. The Nashi “Walking Together”: Skinheads to Defend the Kremlin’s Message Founding the Nashi: A Kremlin Initiative “Patriotic Training” in Nashi Summer Camps The Nashi Manifesto and “Megaproject Russia” Harassing Diplomats and Internal Foes Cyber Attacks Preparing for More Muscled Actions: The Nashi Battle Groups Orthodox Battle Groups? A Historical Precedent: Khrushchev’s Druzhiny The Nashi: Komsomol, Red Guards, or Hitlerjugend? 9. Send in the Cossacks The Rehabilitation of the Cossacks Touting “Cossack Values” The Role of the Cossacks in Post-Soviet Local Wars Cossacks Patrolling the Streets A New Praetorian Guard? A Cossack Political Party Part III: The Wheels of War 10. Three Lost Wars The Cold War: Containment versus Expansionism The War in Afghanistan: Andropov’s War? The First Chechen War: Four Differences with Former Wars The First Chechen War: Yeltsin’s War Chechnya: Russia’s Whipping Boy A Genocide? 11. The Mysterious Apartment Bombings The Detonator: A Secret War against the Russian Population? Panic in the Family A Real or Constructed Casus Belli? The Alleged Chechen Attack on Dagestan Storm in Moscow A Strange “Exercise” by the FSB Foresight or Leaked Information? The Duma Investigation Commission Yeltsin on the Apartment Bombings 12. The Second Chechen War Bombardments: The Massive Slaughter Kontraktniki: The Criminal Volunteers Zachistki: The Purges Filtration Points: Hiding Torture Forced Disappearances and Blowing Up Dead Bodies The Process of Chechenization The War in Chechnya and the European Court of Human Rights A Genocide? 13. The War with Georgia, Part I A Five-Day War? The Russian-Georgian Cold War: The Passport Offensive The Lukewarm War: Russian Provocations and Preparations for War The Hot War: August 7–12, 2008 14. The War with Georgia, Part II A Slow-Motion Annexation? The Central Question: Did Russian Troops Enter South Ossetia Before the War? 15. The War with Georgia, Part III Russia Accuses Georgia of Genocide Ethnic Cleansing and Cluster Bombs Does a Lie Told Often Enough Become a Truth? The Victim as Aggressor The Real Reasons for Moscow’s Land Grab 16. Origins of the War in Ukraine The Kremlin’s Obsession with Ukraine Postmodern Europe: The Hubris of a Weak Continent Political Mistakes by Leading European Politicians Barack Obama’s Ill-Conceived Russia Policy Consequences of the Ukrainian Crisis for Poland and Other New NATO Member States 17. Russia’s “Hybrid War” in Ukraine Putin’s Strategic Goals Putin’s “Hybrid War” What Will Happen Next? Five Scenarios Putin’s Strategy: A Matryoshka Model? 18. 2022: The Russian Invasion of Ukraine Why Putin Decided to Invade Ukraine The Failed Russian “Blitzkrieg” The Situation in Russia: Increased Repression and the Struggle of the Elites The Reaction of the West Sanctions: Did They Work? Military Support Provided by the West The Kremlin’s Nuclear Threats: Bluff or Real Risk? What Did the War Change? Assessing Its Global Impact How Will the War End? Putin’s New Strategy of a Long War The Ukrainian Counteroffensive Bibliography Index About the Author This fully updated book offers the first systematic analysis of Putin's three wars, placing the Second Chechen War, the war with Georgia of 2008, and the war with Ukraine of 2014-2015 in their broader historical context. Drawing on extensive original Russian sources, Marcel H. Van Herpen analyzes in detail how Putin's wars were prepared and conducted, and why they led to allegations of war crimes and genocide. He shows how the conflicts functioned to consolidate and legitimate Putin's regime and explores how they were connected to a fourth, hidden, internal war waged by the Kremlin against the opposition. The author convincingly argues that the Kremlin-relying on the secret services, the Orthodox Church, the Kremlin youth Nashi, and the rehabilitated Cossacks-is preparing for an imperial revival, most recently in the form of a Eurasian Union. An essential book for understanding the dynamics of Putin's regime, this study digs deep into the Kremlin's secret long-term strategies. Readable and clearly argued, it makes a compelling case that Putin's regime emulates an established Russian paradigm in which empire building and despotic rule are mutually reinforcing. As the first comprehensive exploration of the historical antecedents and political continuity of the Kremlin's contemporary policies, van Herpen's work will make a valuable contribution to the literature on post-Soviet Russia, and his arguments will stimulate a fascinating and vigorous debate. "Putin's Wars provides an analysis of Russia's relations with its near neighbors. Its contemporary analysis is enriched by the historical case studies the author brings in to bolster his arguments about Russia's current expansionist aggression. Updated chapter on Ukraine to cover the ongoing war"-- Provided by publisher