Что Делать? (What is to be done?)

What is to be done? This is a question that has graced the title of Russian novels and political manifestos amongst the revolutionary and philosophical elites from Cherneshevsky to Tolstoy and finally with Vladimir Illich himself. This fundamental question of Russian political and philosophical thought is once again at the forefront of relevance, though the advice is no longer limited to domestic polemics but rather to the international community at large.

In the face of a government that no longer wishes to play nice, the Western communities must now decide how to deal with the irascible Putin regime. The attempts to bring political enlightenment the Russian public as to their domestic political plight is not only unnecessary, but harmful. The Russian public to whom the messages of the former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the current John Kerry are intended for, the cosmopolitan Petersburgers and Muscovites, already know of their predicament and are unable to do anything to change the political atmosphere. The Russian citizens who they do not reach, those living in the provincial cities and villages, have much greater concerns than how the Kremlin conducts its foreign policy, such as securing food for the next week.

Not only are those whose rally cries spurred on the demonstrations on Bolotnaya Ploshad (square) in 2011 and 2012 unable to create real change from the bottom up, they are skeptical of Western support in general. This is a population who lived through the late Soviet period and heard propaganda announcing the great achievement of Communism under Brezhnev while standing in seemingly endless queues to buy basic essentials such as bread and butter. They lived through the “Wild West” 90’s of crony capitalism and gangster oligarchs and finally through the stable yet increasingly repressive regimes of the last decade. They know how much faith to put into government proclamations, both foreign and domestic. They are also increasingly bombarded by the message of Russia being under a “foreign siege”, proliferated by the Kremlin’s mouthpieces on every news station. Though perhaps laughable to Westerners, it nonetheless has some resonance with a population once again staring into the abyss at potential hyperinflation and food shortages. With a ruble hovering around 75 to 1 U.S. dollar, over double the norm of 30 to 1 from the late 2000’s to early 2013, the fear of a long term economic crisis is on the anxious minds of every Russian citizen, making EU and Western Sanctions (though often ignoring the foolish “counter-sanctions” enacted by the Kremlin and the illegal military action in Ukraine), though effective, bearing the brunt of much of the discontent.

To effectively communicate to the Russian people tangible Western support, I propose the following steps:

1. Instead of the condemnation of the Kremlin by Western governments, as it is highly ineffective and potentially harmful as documented above, the Western governments, led by the U.S., should instead begin a dialogue on the “humanitarian crisis” ongoing in the Russian Federation, specifically citing the disastrous economic situation and the food shortages in Russia. Admittedly, Russia is not currently in a state of humanitarian crisis, though it is not inconceivable that it could be in the near future. Rather, this is a way to show the Russian people that the West is not concerned simply for the petty political antics of the Kremlin, but rather for the people of Russia who are the victims of Putin’s dubious gambit, thus showing the reality that the Kremlin does not put its citizens first and is unable to support them.

2. Using civic organizations like Rotary Clubs, Lions Clubs or Sister Cities, the West (namely the U.S.) should begin to send humanitarian relief supplies (emblazoned with American flags or “U.S. AID” or some message denoting where it was sent from) to areas that are dealing with the worst of the crisis. This would ensure that the citizens see real, tangible and apolitically motivated support from the West. This would also benefit Western interests if the Russian government decides to block or destroy such aid, as they did with imported foodstuff from EU and Western pro-sanction countries in 2015, by raising the ire of the citizens who believe that Russia is undergoing a humanitarian crisis.

Though one may be critical of using notions such as a “humanitarian crisis” for Machiavellian reasons, as they certainly would be used as such in this scenario, it also is a way to discredit the Kremlin while building Russians confidence in support from the West. And it would provide needed relief, for even if Russia is not in a crisis situation, it is not too far away as well. And finally, it could bring attention to the political and economic situation in Russia to non-governmental Westerners, helping to bridge the current tense international relationship.