Russia asserts its power: A new strategy in the offing?
It appears that Russia is determined to demonstrate its power to the West. During the regime of Boris Yeltsin, Russia was taken for a ride by the West, especially by the US. While Russia was reducing its arsenal of arms, the US was making new lethal weapons. President Putin has reversed Yeltsin's kowtow policy towards the US. Putin can afford to do it because petrol and gas prices are high and Russia has become much richer than before. Furthermore, its 8% per cent economic growth brings back affluent life style to Russians, which was not imagined before. With sufficient money in its coffers, Russia is more confident than ever to demonstrate its power. Putin (born in St. Peterberg) does not forget the Russian glorious past. Peter, the Great ruled Russia and was respected and feared by European monarchs. The Soviet days equally matched the power of America during the Cold War. In space research, Russia was much ahead of America in the 50s and 60s. It was Russia who first sent sputnik (an artificial satellite) into space in October 1957. Again it was Russia that sent the first man (Yuri Gagarin) in April 1961 into the space. These were creditable achievements and the Russians were proud. Against this background, on January 11, 1962, US President Kennedy announced a vast increase of space programmes and proposed to land a man on the moon, by end of the decade. In July 1969 Apollo-11 astronauts realized Kennedy's dream. Putin's Strategy
President Putin wants to put Russia again on the map as a great power. He reportedly said: "Russia has a very important goal which is to retain leadership in the production of military equipment." The new emphasis on Russia's military prowess comes against American arrogance of power since President Bush came into the office in January 2001. During the month of August of this year, Russia has demonstrated its power in many directions. First it sent two sub-marines to plant a Russian flag on the bottom of the Arctic to prove that the North Pole belongs to Russia on the ground that it is an extension of Russian submerged territory (continental shelf). Second, Russia proposed to restore permanent presence in the Mediterranean using the Baltic and Black Sea fleets, by mid August. It also wished to send its ships to Syrian Russian naval base that has been empty for years. Third, Russia has also resumed long-range missions by bomber aircraft capable of hitting the US with nuclear weapons. Patrols over the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic resumed in the middle of August of this year since 1992. Fourth, Presidential aides hinted on 21st August that Russia could soon resume production of Tu-160 and Tu-195 nuclear bombers, now that the aircrafts are again flying "combat missions." The bombers could be used as a means of "strategic deterrence". Russia also would resume large-scale manufacture of civilian planes. Fifth, new Russian technology on display includes the S-400 missile and aircraft interceptor system, similar but allegedly better than the US Patriot and a lethal new supersonic cruise missile the Meteorit-A. Russia used the air show held at Zhukovsky, a former Soviet airbase on the leafy outskirts of Moscow, to show off its latest generation of jet fighters. These included an upgraded Sukhoi jet, the SU-35, which has a new engine and radar system and a revamped "vector thrust" MiG fighter, the MiG 29-OVT. Finally, Russia (a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, is asserting its power on many international issues with the US. Russia did not agree with the US on Kosovo's independence, opposed the installation of US defence missile system in the Czech Republic and Poland. It remains uneasy on US stance on Iran's nuclear proliferation. Contrary to US wishes, it provides military weapons to Syria. Conclusion
It may be recalled that after the collapse of communism in 1991, Russia's impoverished government of Yeltsin cut drastically its spending on air craft industry and started to fall behind the West in the design of aircraft. A Moscow defence expert said that Russia wanted balance and wanted to do this as cheaply as possible with an eye on export. President Putin believes that the Bush administration took Russia for granted on international issues but time has come for Russia to show to the US that unilateralism in international affairs is not acceptable and multilateralism has come in place in resolving all global issues. Some observers say that the Cold War has not yet come and at this point of time, Russia simply wants that its views are counted and respected by the US and the West. The author is former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.
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