Adrian Cioroianu on a new Cold War

Writing in the weekly newspaper Dilema Adrian Cioroianu points to the many differences between Russia and the West that could herald a new Cold War: "Russia is not building up independent national capitalism; it is building an empire (see energy giant Gazprom) in which natural resources will remain under state control. This goes against the traditional capitalist principles (of the West) that uphold a free market and decentralisation. ... Moreover, there are many who look back nostalgically to the times of the Soviet empire. This nostalgia is not exclusive to a particular generation (the older generation, as one would expect) but is part of the school curriculum and is being engrained in the minds of the younger generation through textbooks prescribed by the state. Compounding this phenomenon is a psychological block as regards Ukraine and Georgia: the average Russian has difficulties accepting the fact that these are no longer Russian provinces. ... I believe there is a deep ideological rift between Russia and the West and this rift may only become deeper in the next few years - for the simple reason that they interpret reality differently. As a consequence of the 1990s Russia is breeding an ideology of revenge and gathering together all those things that make it different from the West, so that the West is once again perceived as an opponent. It may be that the West does not perceive itself as embroiled in a Cold War with Russia, but Russia is acting as if it was."

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