The Real Kursk Question: Why Aren’t Russians Demanding War To Drive Ukrainian Forces Out? – OpEd
By Paul Goble
Aleksandr Morozov, head of the Free Russia Institute based in Vilnius, says that the Ukrainian advance into Russia’s Kursk Oblast has many interesting aspects but perhaps the most intriguing of these is that “it turned out that Putin can’t declare war (when enemy troops are already on Russian territory. That means he can’t do it at all.”
The Russian political scientist’s observation, of course, reflects the situation Putin has created for himself by calling his invasion of Ukraine “a special military operation” rather than the war of aggression it is (echofm.online/opinions/mnogo-interesnogo-po-itogam-chetyreh-dnej)..
But the Kremlin leader’s failure to declare war when the troops of another country have advanced into Russian territory raises a larger and even more serious question: why aren’t Russians en masse demanding that he declare war and mobilize all the forces of the country to drive the foreign forces out?
It is difficult to imagine the population of any other country suffering an invasion and not making such a demand; and indeed, it is impossible to identify any other event in Russian history where the population did not respond to an invasion with a wave of patriotic anger that helped the government mobilize to drive the invaders out.
That Russians aren’t demanding such a war now may reflect just how much Putin has intimidated them by his repression. But at the very least, the failure of Russians to respond should be sparking discussions about what is wrong with Russians under Putin that has kept them quiet when others or themselves in a similar situation would have behaved differently.
And it is likely that the answer to that question once it is discovered will play a larger role in the future of the Russian Federation than any Ukrainian advance into Russia, however deep it may go because this absence of a response suggests that under Putin, the Russian people have been stripped of one of the qualities that had made them so heroic in the past.
Nothing has changed in Russia from the historical perspective regarding outspoken opinions. The Russian people know what’s going on as there are too many graves and too many horribly wounded coming back. They have not forgotten the Gulag Archipelago of prisons and exile. How could they? The Ukrainians have not forgotten the starvation of millions and the regional movement of people has spread that story and others throughout the fallen empire.
Even the Russian controlled army is the same as during WWII. How many armies were put together in days and sent into a guaranteed slaughter to occupy the enemy before the skilled and fully weaponized could be sent in to make a difference? It’s happening in Ukraine now, even though the formations are smaller in order to prevent complete slaughter of the Russian army. But there are still formations considered cannon fodder for training and political and ethnic reasons.
And the citizens of Russia are FULLY aware that they are powerless to change either the rhetoric or the reality. But if the citizens sense a chance they will be wolves towards the current leadership. And the bureaucrats are waiting their chance to step up and make amends before securing power for themselves.
There are no heroes. Only opportunists just like Putin.
What is in a name; calling Russian invasion of Ukraine “Special Military Operation” Or now declare “War” since Ukraine has captured a portion of Russian Kursk. Ground battlefield actions remain the same.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is saying this isn’t about holding territory but stopping long-range missile strikes by Russia into Ukraine from the Kursk region by creating a “buffer zone” there.
Funny aim at what cost and couldn’t the Ukrainians have destroyed the Russian missile bases with other means. Call it “War” or “Special Military Operation” how does it matter as death and destruction on both sides will continue.