Thanks for a clear explanation of the current situation. However, I find it confusing why the prestige of the Russian military is not considered high in Russia? They seem to be highly regarded outside of Russia. Also, I’m not sure why deep political involvement of the military is so crucial structurally for Russia? I may be biased due to the many military takeovers around the world, where, the division of military and political factions are blurred. I’m not saying the military should not have large input to political decision making, that would be odd, specially for military matters. I’m also aware that some military personnel have a keen understanding of political matters, and, if they so desire, can move into the political sphere easily; however, a military organization, as a whole, is specialized to solve problems of a particular kind, that may not be the best set of tools for political issues. I guess, I’m not a fan of the idea that war is politics by other means, but, I’m no expert either.
I think the values that the military stands for are inherently more conservative than the business class. If decisions are made with security considerations of the country in mind instead of profit margins, that society becomes stronger.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I think, I understand why you see it that way now. You have broken Russian society into the military and business oriented blocks, so, given only that division, I am on board with your explanation. However, only for myself, I find that both military or business centric parts are incompatible for political office. The reason for the military part was noted in my first response and the business block is definitely a conduit for corruption and as you say, profit margins is not a good guide to build the strength of a society. The academic, religious and working classes can be in either group or neither. I suppose you must sometimes simplify the situation to find a solution. Again I thank you for a great article and reply.
Thanks for a clear explanation of the current situation. However, I find it confusing why the prestige of the Russian military is not considered high in Russia? They seem to be highly regarded outside of Russia. Also, I’m not sure why deep political involvement of the military is so crucial structurally for Russia? I may be biased due to the many military takeovers around the world, where, the division of military and political factions are blurred. I’m not saying the military should not have large input to political decision making, that would be odd, specially for military matters. I’m also aware that some military personnel have a keen understanding of political matters, and, if they so desire, can move into the political sphere easily; however, a military organization, as a whole, is specialized to solve problems of a particular kind, that may not be the best set of tools for political issues. I guess, I’m not a fan of the idea that war is politics by other means, but, I’m no expert either.
I think the values that the military stands for are inherently more conservative than the business class. If decisions are made with security considerations of the country in mind instead of profit margins, that society becomes stronger.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply. I think, I understand why you see it that way now. You have broken Russian society into the military and business oriented blocks, so, given only that division, I am on board with your explanation. However, only for myself, I find that both military or business centric parts are incompatible for political office. The reason for the military part was noted in my first response and the business block is definitely a conduit for corruption and as you say, profit margins is not a good guide to build the strength of a society. The academic, religious and working classes can be in either group or neither. I suppose you must sometimes simplify the situation to find a solution. Again I thank you for a great article and reply.
Actually, you've inspired me to write a blog post on the topic, so thank you for the prompt.
I look forward to your post with great anticipation.