Roger Cohen on "Putin’s Forever War"
New York Times Paris Bureau Chief reports on a month-long trip in Russia
Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) in International Law, Harvard University
We have long advanced the view that the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine is a civilizational struggle1 We have also commented on parallels between Vladimir Putin’s Russia and Adolf Hitler’s Germany2 Roger Cohen, the former long-time columnist of the New York Times and its current bureau chief in Paris, in a magisterial article3 offers keen insights into Russian support for the war and Vladimir Putin’s view and goal of a civilizational struggle against the West.
To understand Russian support for the war and the reasons it is likely to continue for years into the future, concerned readers could do no better than to read Cohen’s long article in its entirety.
Cohen sees Putin as secure in his power and control over the country he rules. Relentless state propaganda, particularly on TV, and the indoctrination of younger generations remind one of the hold over the population of Germany that Adolf Hitler and his propaganda minister Josef Goebbels developed and maintained throughout the 1930’s and World War II.
To be sure, many younger citizens take a more critical view of the war and Putin’s regime. But they do not constitute a force that could threaten Putin’s hold on power. Dissent is vigorously suppressed.
Reading Cohen’s article, one cannot escape the conclusion that the Ukrainian war may continue for a very long time, and that the risk of defeat for Ukraine by the country that defeated Nazi Germany on the eastern front in World War II will remain large and ever-present for as long as the war lasts.
See, e.g.,
1)”We must defend Western Civilization as we follow its path into the future--Part One,” Trenchant Observations, April 24, 2023.
2)”We must defend Western Civilization as we follow its path into the future--Part Two; The-fallacious thinking behind the ‘New Multi-Polar International Order',” Trenchant Observations, April 25, 2023.
3)”We must defend Western Civilization as we follow its path into the future--Part Three,” Trenchant Observations, April 25, 2023.
In this regard, see David Knowles, “Serhii Plokhy interview: ‘Putin wants control of Ukraine – but he is prepared to go for plan B’; The celebrated historian and professor of Ukrainian history has studied the parallels between the 1930s and the years leading up to 2022,” The Telegraph, July 9, 2023 (5:10 pm).
Roger Cohen, “Putin’s Forever War,” New York Times, August 6 2023.
Roger Cohen and Nanna Heitmann traveled from Moscow to Siberia to Russia’s border with Ukraine to report and photograph this article.