Adding on to no longer tolerating dissent, beating up protestors, and murdering journalists and exiles who knew and said too much, Russia now takes yet another step back to the Cold War era.
The writers of the Simpsons predicted this many years ago… proving they have a better grasp of international relations than most western government
Russia is to replace its military doctrine with a more hawkish version that boldly identifies Nato and the west as its greatest danger.
In a statement posted on its website, Russia’s powerful security council said it no longer considered global terrorism as its biggest danger. Instead, Russia was developing a new national security strategy which reflected changing “geo-political” realities, and the fact that rival military alliances were becoming “stronger” - “especially Nato”.
“There have been changes in the character of the threat to the military security of Russia. More and more leading world states are seeking to upgrade their national armed forces. The configuration has changed,” the council said.
Although President Vladimir Putin ordered his generals to revise the country’s military doctrine in June 2005, the blueprint reflects the sudden deterioration in relations with the west.
In particular Russia has been incensed by the US administration’s plans to site two new missile interceptor and radar bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Senior figures in the Russian military yesterday told the Guardian they were infuriated by what they regard as Nato’s “relentless expansion” into “post-Soviet space” - the countries of former communist eastern Europe and the Baltic. Russia felt increasingly “encircled” by hostile neighbours, they said.
Yesterday Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said Washington had failed to explain why it wanted to site missile bases on Russia’s doorstep. President Putin has ridiculed the US claim that the bases are designed to shoot down rogue missiles from Iran or North Korea, claiming their real target is Russia’s nuclear arsenal.
“We have been discussing this issue with our American colleagues. But most of our questions have remained without coherent answers,” Mr Lavrov said.
It is not clear when Russia’s new doctrine will be in place. But the council is likely to recommend a new strategy by the end of the year, military sources said. The doctrine follows a big increase in military expenditure announced last month.
Yesterday analysts said the new doctrine would be “much tougher” than the old one, adopted in 2000.
“It will be much harsher towards the US and Nato. The doctrine will reflect Russia’s concerns about Nato enlargement and the ABM [anti-ballistic missile] system deployment close to Russia’s borders,” Sergei Kortunov, a former member of the council, and professor at Moscow’s school of economics, said. He added: “Russia is concerned about the US’s creation of new arms systems. It is also worried about the dangers to Russia from the US and other western countries, and their political role in the countries of the post-Soviet space.”
The chairman of Russia’s academy of military science, Mahmoud Garayev, said Russia could no longer afford to ignore the threat from Nato. Drugs and terrorism were an irrelevance, he said.
The doctrine comes as the Bush administration has reportedly decided to step up its arguably erratic bilateral engagement with Moscow.
According to the New York Times, the White House intends to “reach out more often and more intensively” to Russia, an acknowledgment in effect that it has not always consulted Russia on major foreign policy and national security plans.
