Russian leader Vladimir Putin does not see the world the way most Americans do. Whereas we in this country think of democracy as dominant, Putin despises democracy and sees it as Ƶstanding in the wayƵ of better global governance.
According to a local expert on Russian and Ukranian history, Robert McCollister, 69, a Ph.D. political scientist from Ohio State, Putin envisions an ideal world as broken into three Ƶspheres of influence.Ƶ One sphere has its ƵcapitalƵ in the Kremlin and holds sway over all of Europe Ƶfrom Vladivostok to Dublin.Ƶ Here Putin himself holds the keys to power.
Another sphere has its capital in Bejing and exercises dominant control over all of Ƶia, including even Japan. Chinese president Xi Jinping is its ruler.
The third sphere is under a U.S. government that Putin sees as morphing from democracy into an authoritarian model that uses a corrupted, or faux, democracy as a cover. This sphere is subject to the control of Donald J. Trump, who must bend to the leverage Putin and the Russian oligarchs hold over him.
PutinƵs vision may help explain why Trump has made so much of his ambition to annex Canada as Ƶthe 51st stateƵ and also acquire control of Greenland from Denmark. Such acquisitions fit neatly into the model Putin has been espousing. The Russian leaderƵs model also provides a rationale for TrumpƵs oft-repeated insistence that he wants to bulldoze away the U.S. ConstitutionƵs injunction against any president seeking a third term.
Since Trump is now 79 and vulnerable to the ravages of age on mind and body, we have lately seen a push for ƵdynastyƵ in American politics, with Eric Trump as the heir apparent of the Trump mantle. While many here laugh away the younger TrumpƵs boldly stated ambition, Putin quite probably takes it seriously. A Trump dynasty would be a way of assuring that a Kremlin-friendly leader holds on to our nationƵs highest office.
There is evidence that Russian money helped bail the Trump organization out of six bankruptcies, which would indicate that Trump & Co. are still beholden to huge cash injections from Putin and the Russian oligarchs. (See David Cay JohnstonƵs book ƵThe Making of Donald TrumpƵ). Eric Trump is on the record as stating publicly, ƵWe always went to Russia for money.Ƶ U.S. banks had reached a point of refusing any more loans to the Trumps.
Just as Putin provided cash infusions to keep the Trump empire afloat, he also has been helping to fund rightwing political parties in France, Italy, Germany and elsewhere, McCollister explained. Such deals are part of PutinƵs effort to achieve hegemony in Europe and the Middle East. TrumpƵs ties with Iran and Syria have been especially strong.
McCollister laid out his perceptions of what Putin and his associates have been aiming for during a panel discussion on the Ukraine-Russian War at the Alchemy Theater on June 28. The panel was sponsored by Sunflower Seeds: Tristate Aid for Ukraine, based in Huntington.
Other participants included Sgt. Matthew Sampson, U.S. Marine Corps (Ret.), a combat veteran of both the Afghan and Iraq wars and for two years a volunteer fighter with Ukrainian forces against the Russian invaders.
After recounting his service as a sniper in Ukraine, Sampson told the audience at the Alchemy Theater: ƵWrite your representatives and your senators. Urge them to keep up U.S. support for Ukraine, money and munitions. Believe me, the Russians have people writing to those same congress people urging them to stop all aid to Ukraine.Ƶ
He said Russia was spending big money on propaganda, including a lot of misinformation, to try to persuade America to pull the plug on Ukraine.
McCollister agreed. ƵIt is critical that Ukraine win this war,Ƶ he told the assembly. ƵThey are fighting not only for their democracy but for democracy here in the USA and everywhere.Ƶ
Currently, McCollister, who lives in Ironton, is researching and writing a book on connections between Hungarian strongman Victor Orban and Donald Trump. Orban gradually converted a working democracy in Hungary to a virtual autocracy, or dictatorship. He did so in part by corrupting the courts and buying controlling interest in media properties. McCollister sees Trump as attempting to copy the HungarianƵs tactics to create an imperial presidency in the United States and replace our democratic model with strong-man rule.
John Patrick Grace is a former Ƶsociated Press reporter, editor and foreign correspondent (Rome). Full disclosure: He has been serving as a pro bono editorial consultant for Robert McCollisterƵs book on the Orban-Trump connection.
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