Why Did Putin Only Lament The Loss Of Some Former Soviet Republics In His First Meeting With Bush?

By Andrew Korybko

Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus occupy special places in the Russian psyche and security planning, but all former Soviet Republics are important to both in their own way, and Putin truly wants them to succeed.

The US Government recently declassified three of Putin’s conversations with Bush, the first of which took place in June 2001 in Slovenia and saw him lament the loss of only some former Soviet Republics. In his words, “Soviet goodwill changed the world, voluntarily. And Russians gave up thousands of square kilometres of territory, voluntarily. Unheard of. Ukraine, part of Russia for centuries, given away. Kazakhstan, given away. The Caucasus, too. Hard to imagine, and done by party bosses.”

These five former Soviet Republics – Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the three Caucasian ones (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) – were mentioned unlike the others for several reasons. For starters, they’ve played much more significant roles in Russian history: Ukraine was an important part of “Old (‘Kievan’) Rus”; Kazakhstan was equivalent to the US’ “Wild West”; and the Caucasus functioned as a buffer against the Ottoman and Persian Empires. Lots of blood was spilled and treasure spent there over the centuries.

Similar sacrifices were made in the Baltics and Belarus, which border Russia just like the aforesaid five except for Armenia, but their historical ties with Russia are less strong. The Baltics were never part of “Old Rus” while what are now known as Belarusians had an almost exclusively local identity bereft of any ethno-national consciousness till the early 20^th century. Russians sacrificed for Moldova and Central Asia too, but only relatively recently, hence Russia’s much lesser civilizational impact on their societies.

Russians also have a much stronger affinity for Ukrainians, Russian Kazakhs, and the Caucasus’ Christians since the first are considered part of their own people, the second settled that country’s vast steppes just like the “Wild West” was settled, and the third sought their protection from the Turks and Persians. To be sure, their hearts are also with their co-ethnics in the Baltics due to the discrimination that they now face, but the large Russian presence there only came about after World War II and isn’t historic.

It’s for these reasons that Putin only lamented the loss of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus in his first meeting with Bush since they’re the ones that instinctively came to mind in this context. Nevertheless, those who spun his words as implying revanchist intentions are wrong since Putin proudly declared in his July 2021 magnum opus “On the Historical Unity of Russians and Ukrainians” that any people’s awareness of itself as a separate nation must be treated with respect, but on two conditions.

Whether it’s Ukraine, Kazakhstan, or the Caucasian countries vis-à-vis the USSR, for instance, they must respect their Russian minorities and not threaten Russia. Ethnic Russians suddenly ending up in foreign countries and Russia suddenly having to deal with possible security threats explain why Putin famously described the USSR’s dissolution as the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the last century. Even so, he never meant to suggest its restoration, just that Russia’s legitimate interests there be taken into account.

Trump recently said that Putin “wants to see Ukraine succeed”, which goes for all of his neighbours since he doesn’t want failed states around Russia, ergo why “Putin was very generous in his feeling toward Ukraine succeeding, including supplying energy, electricity, and other things at very low prices.” Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus occupy special places in the Russian psyche and security planning, but all former Soviet Republics are important to both in their own way, and Putin truly wants them to succeed.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Voice of East.

Categories: Analysis, Geopolitics, Russia

Tags: Caucasus, Geopolitics, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine, USSR, Vladimir Putin