Essays in Idleness

Having made myself sufficiently unpopular with my (tiny) circle of Canadian readers, let me get back to the subject of Ukrainians and Russians. I see a possibility of becoming unpopular with both, which should not be neglected.

Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin continues to be immovable as Russian president, despite his armies making a hash of his invasion of Ukraine; and Mr Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy (the media have added a “y” recently) continues to be immovable as Ukrainian president, because his armies have achieved a stalemate over the last three years. Zelensky is a hero in Western Europe, which has been starved of such characters, but has worn out his welcome with the American public, sick of financing him. Putin is actually becoming more popular.

Zelensky and Putin both, however, are corrupt psychopaths, as should be clear to the armchair generals by now. Putin has been consistently the less trustworthy, but that is the prerogative of the bigger power: to be, unchallengeably, the bigger liar.

Neither Putin nor Zelensky thinks that he can personally benefit from peace, although the people in both countries would gain by it. For one thing, the men, and a selection of the women and children, would cease to be maimed and killed — always an advantage, at least to them.

Nationalism has been blamed by most disinterested observers, but I think unfairly. The problem is that the nations (“sovereignties”) are too big. The Crimea, and also the Donetsk region, should never have been added to Ukraine; both are naturally independent, and mostly Russian-speaking. And as for Russia itself, it would be more suitably divided into about eight dozen smaller independent states, who could fight among themselves if they insisted.

For to paraphrase Winston Churchill (who was speaking of Germany), “We love Russias so much, we would like as many of them as possible.”