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Ryklin, Michail
2 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
Michail Ryklin on the Putin system
In the quarterly intellectual magazine Magyar Lettre Internationale Russian writer and philosopher Michail Ryklin reflects on the Putin system and its weaknesses: "The system established by Putin is not stable. … The profits from its exports [of raw materials] were high enough for Russia to pay its public debt and see the number of its billionaires double every two to three years … and moderately increase the level of prosperity of most of its citizens. This was the reason for Putin's popularity. Under the new conditions this system will no longer function. … During Putin's second term in office a repressive depoliticisation of society took place. With each step towards depoliticisation and the extermination of the weak plant of democracy prosperity grew (for some a little, for others more and for others still exorbitantly). A paternalistic social model bearing the label 'power vertical' was created: state power took care of its passive and immature subjects and in return demanded unconditional trust and subjugation . … In this context I believe that nationalist forces will consolidate and extend their political influence."
» to the homepage (external link, Magyar Lettre Internationale)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Russia
A heavy communist legacy
The Caucasus crisis has its roots in Georgia's excessive nationalism, writes Russian philosopher Michail Ryklin in the German weekly Die Zeit, noting that nationalist trends are also a problem in other post-Soviet countries. "The dreams of the nationalists were dashed when Georgia was left destitute following the break-up of the Soviet Union. ... The possession or lack of property should not [however] lead one to draw far-reaching moral conclusions. ... And who are these 'Russians' and 'Georgians' anyway? Most of them are post-Soviet people who think they have returned to their national niches after the end of the Great Terror - as if the Terror had not left them with deep wounds that would take decades to heal, as if their nation would not feel the phantom pains of the Soviet era. ... The refusal to confront their own past is bringing wars and conflict to the post-Soviet region. Regardless of the form the rhetoric takes nationalism is flourishing, and democratic rhetoric is no exception here. ... A return to Europe can only be achieved by confronting the recent totalitarian past and those mechanisms that reduced the Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Kyrgyz and Georgians to the same servitude. Only when this work has been done can our concepts of Europe become more complex, nuanced and - what is more important - realistic."
» full article (external link, German)
More from the press review on the subject » International Relations, » Security Policy / Crises / War, » History, » Russia, » Europe, » Georgian Republic
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