Putin's Prepares Russia for a Long, Bitter War

“War is father of all, and king of all. He renders some gods, others men; he makes some slaves, others free.”―Heraclitus

One of the biggest mysteries in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, asks Russian intelligence expert Andrei Soldatov, is why is Putin sending units of the Russian National Guard (known as the Rosgvardia) to Ukraine?

The Rosgvardia is not like a conventional National Guard, in which its personnel would bolster the army in time of war, but rather a domestic security force created in 2016 by Putin to counter?internal dissent or presumably "Western-backed" protests.

Is the presence of Putin's internal security force in Ukraine a sign that Putin's intention all along was to totally integrate Ukraine back into the Russian fold? A report in early February 2022 claimed Putin already had a plan to imprison Ukrainians in concentration camps, much like Stalin did with the Polish army officers, priests, and intellectuals after he invaded Poland. Russian forces are rounding up thousands of Ukrainians but Russian officials instead say the Ukrainians are being "evacuated."

Complicity of the Russian People

In the same interview, Andrei Soldatov went on to say, "The astonishing lack of (Russian) sympathy for the Ukrainians to me is very shocking because . . . every second family in Russia has some relatives in Ukraine."

Elliot Ackerman, a former Marine officer, spent several weeks in Ukraine. In a article in Time, Ackerman found Ukrainians hold the Russian people as responsible for their current situation as they do Putin.

One reason might be the increasing militarization of Russia. In a DW documentary that was originally released in 2019 as Town Of Glory, the Russian filmmaker Dmitry Bogolyubov visited the town of Yelnya, Russia, near the Ukrainian border. Many people in Yelnya?share a firm support for Putin. Pre-school and elementary children in Yelnya are taught songs and told stories about serving in the Russian armed forces. Older children are taught how to march, wear uniforms and how to tear down and reassembly AK47s and other small arms. There is no greater glory than dying for Mother Russia. Russia's main enemy is the West and Western values, but Russia, in the end, will prevail under Putin.

This documentary, even though focused on one small town, is indicative of both the support Russians have for Putin, and how deeply ingrained is unquestioning service to the Russian state. I found it to be an eye opener regarding Russian attitudes. Sanctions against Russia will likely have little to no effect on popular support for Putin's policies. If anything, they will only inflame the Russian people, proving that the West is indeed holding Russia back.

With full support from his people, Putin has no reason on the home front to dial down his attacks on Ukraine. If anything, their pace is increasing. Kharkiv?has received over 300 grad missile strikes according to a March 31st. report by FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris Trent. Chernihiv, another northern city without power, running water or heat, is also in danger of becoming a wasteland, under constant attack from Russian bombs, shells, and missiles. Although Ukrainian forces have been pushed out of Mariupol, the southern city continues to blasted, with over an estimated 5,000 civilians having been killed since the start of the war.

Every indication seem to show, regardless of their many losses, regardless of world opinion, the Russians are prepared for a long, bloody fight. ■