Miklós Tamás Gáspár on the humiliation of Russia

With reference to the murder of the former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko in London, the Hungarian philosopher Miklós Tamás Gáspár explains what he sees as the key to Putin's success in his own country. "The answer is simple: the humiliation of the Russian people, which Putin had promised to end. The fall of communism brought terrible poverty to Russia and put it in a very vulnerable position. The West exploited its triumph – which by the way was not its own triumph but that of the people of Eastern Europe – mercilessly and tactlessly, and this was a dangerous thing to do. Human rights are being blatantly disregarded in Russia, but as long as the West keeps trampling on Russia's pride, the Russian people see nothing but arrogance in its accusations. Unfortunately, we're not in a position to preach morals to Russia after treating it with such contempt."

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