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Электронное приложение к журналу «
Международная жизнь
»
Authors: Sergey Kazennov, leading research associate, Institute of World Economy and International Re-
lations, Russian Academy of Sciences, Candidate of Science (Economics)
Vladimir Kumachev, senior research associate at the same institute
We are the avowed proponents of the "if you want
peace, prepare for peace" approach, but under dif-
ferent circumstances, at different historical and
geopolitical periods, "preparations" can and should
be different.
TODAY'S WORLD, this Bermuda Triangle of po-
tentialities, intentions and threats, in which Russia is
to uphold its national interests, is quite"appropriate"
for the emergence and cultivation of the virus of
tension and confrontation, not only military con-
frontation, as well as for the growing role of military
power in international relations, when even insignificant pockets of contradictions and slight
provocations can cause numerous problems for the system of international and national security.
There are a lot of explanations for this.
First of all, it is the global systemic crisis, not only a financial and economic crisis. It will have a
recurring, multilateral character and it will last as a minimum until the end of the present decade,
with growing turbulence and the most uncertain but clearly destabilizing consequences for the
sphere of international relations.
Today, Russia is being ignored, demonized and isolated not because it purportedly makes mistakes
or behaves arrogantly on the international arena, but because it is not strong enough; weakness
is a greater sin than lack of cooperation or tolerance.
It would be irresponsible not to follow a focused policy aimed at strengthening and upgrading
its defense capability and military activity. When the language of force and pressure, not only
purely military pressure, is so trendy in the world, Vladimir Putin's remarks regarding the "law
of the taiga" and the determination to protect it are particularly relevant, and this is not bullying,
not a threat to the international community.
TO WHAT EXTENT is Russia itself to blame for the ongoing offensive on the post-Soviet
space and the attempts to squeeze it out of this space, incidentally, not only on the part of the
West? Frankly, the pace of reform in the Russian Federation does not quite match its current
needs, and this is not only the result of intrigues by its opponents or the consequences of the
global crisis. Therefore, there is a pressing need for a breakthrough in the sphere of moderniza-
tion, and it cannot be made in the current feeble, verbose and inertial mode, without robust mo-
bilization measures. It should be noted, however, that in reality, a virtual picture often costs more
than a real picture, and the possibility of this optical illusion is widely used today, like never be-
If You Want Peace, Prepare for Peace: Reflections Amid the Cur-
rent Political Crisis