At the begging of his loyal subjects, Vladimir Putin, father of the Russian homeland and defender of the empire, agrees to run again for the highest office in the state: the Potemkiniad in Moscow recalls the time when another father of nations, Stalin, was adored as the embodiment of Soviet genius. In the case of both, the longevity of dictatorship is the elixir of longevity. Existence outside of power is unimaginable.

Far from Moscow, in Bolivarian Venezuela, Hugo Chávez’s successor, President Maduro, is calling an operetta referendum to offer his political justification for the upcoming annexation of part of neighboring Guyana. This is a scene that has its own symbolism. By refusing to resolve the case in international courts, the dictator from Caracas is only applying a precedent created by Russia in Ukraine. Guns, not law, are the hallmark of this new international order born with the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014.

Aggressiveness and tyranny

Because in this new world we live in, the alliance between international aggression and domestic tyranny is the foundation upon which a new type of state is built. Far from exhausted since 1989, autocracies, more or less inspired by Marxism-Leninism, are becoming an alternative to constitutional democracy. Repression and strengthening of power sooner or later give rise to aggression. Order after the fall iron curtains denied by these revisionist states.

And the war in Ukraine, the attack on Hamas and the rhetoric of Venezuela are the same signs of the viability of this new model to go “viral”. Peace is increasingly becoming an element of the anachronistic past. War is seen as a legitimate form of achieving the goals of the dictatorship.

After the unanimous adoption, the rule of territorial integrity of states is called into question. Russia has paved the way for other tyrannical nations to follow. Rigged referendums are used to create a political alibi for violence and pirate kidnappings. Putin’s precedent is fundamental.

The lack of Western-promoted deterrence explains the speed with which this precedent is used. Fluctuations regarding Ukraine, the lack of a clear defense policy of Russia, the temptation of peace due to territorial mutilation – all this dramatically increases the chances that revisionism will be increasingly active in the military sphere. Russia’s ability to wage war under the influence of sanctions incentivizes those who will be willing to resort to the same tools of crime and plunder in international relations in the future. As the war in Ukraine deepens and Ukraine is unable to defeat the Russian Federation militarily, upheavals in the international community are becoming a daily fact.

So, the war in Ukraine is a battlefield on which the future of relations between peoples will be decided. Acceptance, in any form, of Russian territorial annexations would mean abandoning the principles on which the current order is based: the aggressor will be rewarded, and potential aggressors will take this collective capitulation as a direct call to action. Not only the Chinese PR, but also all other revisionist states will use this opportunity to eliminate borders and states. The survival of some nations would be in mortal danger.

Not only peace, but also an armistice would be a terrible strategic mistake. The analogy with the situation after the Korean War is false. In the case of 1953, the armistice cemented the separation of two states that de facto already existed. A similar strategy in Ukraine would be the equivalent of another Munich: capitulation to totalitarianism, cowardice committed with irresponsible intent.

The persistence of Russian tyranny is a fact we can no longer ignore. – Read the entire article and comment on Contributors.ro