Although the physical barrier between the Soviet Union and the Western world has collapsed, in many ways Russia remains isolated; a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.The world celebrated the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall Monday, November 9. While most looked back triumphantly on the event that reunified Germany and led to the end of the Cold War, according to the Moscow Times, Russian dignitaries spoke about the anniversary with considerably more ambivalence.
President Medvedev recently said in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, "The Berlin Wall was a symbol of the division of the continent, and the fall of the Wall united us again." Yet, despite this positive response, Medvedev also expressed some resentment that Russia still had not been welcomed or integrated into Western Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
On the anniversary of the collapse, we recognize that a physical wall between Russia and the world was dismantled. But a political wall remains. By excluding Russia from NATO and ignoring the nation's concerns and demands, the West has rebuilt a politically polarizing division between Russia and the rest of Europe. Russia remains a political and cultural "other."
If Western Europe, the United States and the rest of the so-called industrialized world isolates Russia, they will provoke Russian politicians to political aggression. Russia has historically taken pride in expansionism and the notion of empire, and to block Russia from the Western political sphere will simply remind Russian statesmen that their circle of influence continues to diminish.
In addition, Russian tsars, the likes of Peter the Great, historically fought for Russia to be recognized as a modern, industrialized, forward-thinking nation. Modern leaders still wage this same battle. To be excluded from the global community, reinforces the Russian fear that Europeans and Americans think of Russia as an uneducated and backward nation.
For Russia to regain its status as a major political force, either Russians will have to learn to play the Western political game, or the Western world will have to acknowledge Russian interests.
