Valery Gerasimov: biography and military career. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov on hybrid warfare Valery Gerasimov the value of science in foresight
Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov was on the list of officials published by the US Treasury Department who could potentially fall under new US sanctions. It is noteworthy that this general some time ago acquired simply incredible fame in the West. There he is considered the founding father of the new Russian military doctrine, which is called the "Gerasimov Doctrine" in media publications and even in official documents.
Ironically, Valery Gerasimov himself did not invent anything of the kind, and, of course, such a doctrine does not actually exist. Meanwhile, Western experts on Russia are now divided into two camps. On those who believe in all this, and on those who perfectly understand that all this is fiction. At the same time, the “Gerasimov Doctrine” syndrome reflects the split of the Western expert community.
The fact that so many people believed the story of the “Gerasimov Doctrine” is both laughable and disappointing. It all started in February 2013 with an article by Valery Gerasimov entitled "The value of science in foresight", which is summary his annual speech at the Academy of Military Sciences. In this publication, the general, based on the experience of the "Arab spring", outlined the Russian vision of the Western approach to warfare and the nature of modern military conflicts. Frankly speaking, in this speech of his it is difficult to find any deviations from the main trends of Russian military thought, which can also be traced in other authors.
At first, Gerasimov's article was simply ignored. But after the annexation of Crimea, it began to be perceived as a policy document, an example of the Russian approach to warfare. In fact, very few understood the true meaning of the article and almost no one bothered to read the entire original speech of the general. His interpretation of the American approach to the conduct of political and military confrontation was perceived as a presentation of the new Russian doctrine of the fight against the West. Such a reaction is quite typical of those politicians and the military who are looking for simple answers and catchy details to explain what is happening.
Gerasimov lists new types and methods of warfare and positions them as a set of problems that Russian military theorists have to deal with. The article briefly describes several major trends: waging wars without officially declaring or recognizing the fact of waging them, the growing importance of asymmetric or non-military means on compared with traditional forms of warfare, the widespread use of propaganda and special forces, information warfare, the impact of high-precision weapons that can be massively used throughout the depth of enemy combat formations, as well as the spread of drones and robotic systems.
Taken together, all these points have much in common with ongoing discussions in the United States about the nature of hybrid conflicts. Most of Gerasimov's observations relate to the enduring problems of military affairs that have arisen from geopolitical confrontation between great powers capable of combining non-military and military tools.
It should be noted that in Russia there are many official doctrines, both published and secret. Nevertheless, the suggestion that the Chief of the Russian General Staff lays out operational plans in his articles or uses them to convey his doctrinal considerations to fellow generals abroad is simply ridiculous. Moreover, all coincidences were superficial, and Gerasimov covered such a wide range of conflicts that any military or political activity of Russia could fit into this framework. The problem of misinterpretation of the Russian doctrine and actions of the Russian Federation has been exacerbated by the lack of qualified specialists on Russia and the inexperience of the Western leadership in this matter.
Among Western military experts, Gerasimov has a reputation for being a good specialist in the use of armored forces, but the development of a new doctrine usually requires the painstaking work of a host of military thinkers. Gerasimov himself, instead of promoting his own model of warfare, quotes the words of another well-known Russian military theorist Alexander Svechin: “For each war, it is necessary to develop a special line of strategic behavior, each war is a special case that requires the establishment of its own special logic, and not the application of any template." The essence of Gerasimov's thoughts is that it is necessary not to copy foreign experience or try to catch up with the United States, that the Russian military needs to master new forms and methods of warfare.
Despite the fact that the term “Gerasimov Doctrine” often appears in Western publications, a careful observer may notice that there is not a word about it in the recently published report of the US Defense Intelligence Agency “Russian military power". There is no mention of Gerasimov in the section on Russian military doctrine. For serious experts on the Russian armed forces, the words "Gerasimov Doctrine" have already become a kind of professional joke.
Nevertheless, a qualified opinion on this issue, as well as on Russian issues in general, is a rarity in the West. As a result, Valery Gerasimov's reputation as a gloomy creator of the new Russian military doctrine is only strengthened. He has already become so famous that he will soon be envied.
Recently, Russia has been attacking the United States from a variety of positions, often contradictory. Russian bots supported Trump's presidential campaign, but when he became president, the pro-Kremlin media began to portray him as a weak ruler. Vladimir Putin is expelling American diplomats from Russia, limiting his ability to mend relations with the very administration he wanted to see lead the US. Congress is demanding a tougher course on Russia, and newspapers are declaring that Putin's bet on Trump has failed. Confused? You simply do not understand the Gerasimov doctrine.
In February 2013, General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, roughly equivalent to the American position of head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, published a 2,000-word article in the Russian trade newspaper Military Industrial Courier under the headline "The value of science is in foresight." . Gerasimov took tactics developed in the Soviet Union, mixed them with strategic military ideas about total war, and formulated new theory modern warfare, which implies, rather, not a direct attack on the enemy, but a “hacking” of his society. “The 'rules of war' themselves have changed significantly. The role of non-military methods in achieving political and strategic goals has increased, which in a number of cases have significantly surpassed the force of arms in their effectiveness ... All this is complemented by covert military measures, ”he wrote.
This article is considered by many to be the clearest expression of modern Russian strategy, based on the idea of total war and placing politics and war on the same plane - both from a philosophical and technical point of view. This approach involves guerrilla warfare waged on all fronts using a wide range of allies and tools - hackers, media, business, leaks and, yes, fake news - as well as conventional and asymmetric military methods. Thanks to the Internet and social networks, operations that Soviet psychological warfare specialists could only dream of became possible. Now you can turn everything upside down in the enemy's country solely with the help of information. Gerasimov's doctrine puts a theoretical foundation for the use of these new tools and proclaims non-military tactics not as an auxiliary element in the use of force, but as the preferred path to victory. In fact, she announces exactly that. real war. The Kremlin seeks to create chaos - it is not for nothing that Gerasimov emphasizes the importance of destabilizing the enemy state and plunging it into constant conflict.
Does such a strategy work? While the Obama administration downplayed the threat of a new Cold War, Georgia, Estonia and Lithuania - former enslaved countries - sounded the alarm about Russian attempts to influence them. internal politics and undermine their security. All three of these countries now have parties in power with strong financial ties to Moscow, quietly pushing for greater openness to the Russians.
In Ukraine, Russia has been applying the Gerasimov Doctrine for several years now. During the 2014 protests, the Kremlin supported extremists on both sides—pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian ultranationalists—fueling the conflict, which it later used as a pretext to seize Crimea and start a war in eastern Ukraine. Adding to this a hefty dose of information warfare, he got a mess in which no one can be sure of anyone and in which there are no unambiguous heroes - which allows Moscow to control the situation. This is exactly what the Gerasimov Doctrine looks like in action.
The next target was the United States. The Russian police state considers America the main adversary. The Russians understand that they cannot compete with us on an equal footing either economically, or technologically, or in the military sphere.
So they create new battlefields. They are not trying to become stronger than us, but they want to weaken us so that we are on the same level with them.
Russia may not have hacked American voting machines. However, it selectively and purposefully disseminated in social networks false and distorted information, sometimes using hacked material, and forming de facto information alliances with certain groups in the United States. As a result, she apparently managed to win an important battle, without most Americans even noticing this battle. American electoral system is the heart of the most powerful democracy in the world, and now, thanks to Russian actions, we are arguing with each other and questioning its legitimacy. In fact, we are at war with ourselves, despite the fact that the enemy did not inflict a single physical blow on us. “Information warfare opens up broad asymmetric opportunities to reduce the enemy’s combat potential,” Gerasimov wrote (he also pointed out the possibility of using “internal opposition to create a permanent front throughout the territory of the opposing state”).
Not all experts on Russia consider the Gerasimov Doctrine to be an important phenomenon. Some call it simply a new, articulated version of what the Russians have been doing for a long time. Some believe that Putin's importance is greatly inflated and that one should not consider him omnipotent or see him as a fairy-tale monster. Some point out that due to the infighting between the oligarchic factions in the Kremlin, Russian actions lack a single strategic goal. However, Russia is undoubtedly systematically interfering in the affairs of other countries at different levels at the same time. Her methods baffle us because we don't always understand how they work in practice. After all, like any strategy of guerrilla action, they involve saving resources and decentralization, and therefore they are difficult to identify and track. In addition, from a strategic point of view, Russia's tasks look unusual for us. The Kremlin does not rely on the victory of this or that force - it weakens the enemy and creates an environment in which everyone but himself loses.
This is the main forte shadow war in the style of Gerasimov. It is very difficult to confront an enemy that you cannot see and whose existence you are not even completely sure of. However, this approach is still far from ideal. The Gerasimov doctrine is based on hidden manipulation, which makes it extremely vulnerable. It begins to crumble, it is worth shedding light on how it works and what goals it sets for itself. This requires leadership and a clear vision of the threat - an example of which was France, whose government before the presidential election managed to rally and warn voters about Russian information operations. But America is still in the dark. Not only does it not go on the offensive, it does not even defend itself.
Molly McKue is an information warfare specialist who advises governments and political parties on foreign policy and strategic communication. In 2009-2013 she advised the government of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, in 2014-2015 she advised former Prime Minister of Moldova Vlad Filat.
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In the forests and fields of Belarus, Russian tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers line up in a western-oriented battle formation. Warships conduct combat maneuvers in the Baltic Sea. Preparing to take off planes with paratroopers. Who is the opponent? The militant state of Veishnoria, in which Western-funded terrorists have dug in, seeking to destabilize Russia and infiltrate its sphere of influence.
In fact, Veishnoria is a fictional country, and Russia is just conducting exercises on the eastern border of the European Union. However, nervous NATO leaders are already saying that this show of force reflects the concept of "hybrid warfare" developed by Gen. Valery Gerasimov, who heads the general staff of the Russian armed forces. This military doctrine has supposedly made Russia a more dangerous threat than at any time since the Cold War.
As the week-long Exercise West unfolds, NATO is beefing up its presence in the Baltics, the U.S. Air Force is taking control of Baltic airspace, and European governments are preparing to defend against disinformation campaigns, fake news, and cyberattacks.
Silent, rarely seen in public, Mr. Gerasimov is an exemplary general. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu once called him "military to the root of his hair."
Mr. Shoigu, a politician-turned-general, is believed to heed the advice of a former tanker in military matters. According to one review, "Shoigu does an excellent job of playing the guitar while Gerasimov plays it in the background."
As the de facto head of the Russian armed forces, Mr. Gerasimov published his reflections on military science. “In the 21st century, there is a tendency to blur the distinction between the state of war and peace. Wars are no longer declared, and when they start, they do not go according to the pattern we are used to,” he said in a 2,000-word article published in February 2013 in the weekly Russian newspaper"Military-industrial courier".
“Asymmetric actions have become widespread ... These include the use of special operations forces and internal opposition to create a permanent front throughout the territory of the opposing state, as well as informational influence, the forms and methods of which are constantly being improved,” he argued.
This material was written on the basis of a report that Mr. Gerasimov made three months after his appointment as Chief of the General Staff. Its description of a hybrid war that includes “political, economic, informational, humanitarian and other non-military measures” turned out to be prophetic a year later. Russian soldiers in uniform without insignia appeared in Crimea and carried out an operation that led to the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula. This was preceded by demonstrations organized by Russian agents against the pro-Western government of Ukraine.
Western observers immediately began to perceive Mr. Gerasimov's article as a blueprint for future Russian hybrid attacks against the West. The proliferation of pro-Russian news media, the financial support given to anti-establishment European politicians, the alleged activities of Russian hackers against Western political campaigns and elections are all seen as manifestations of the so-called Gerasimov Doctrine.
“Remote non-contact impact on the enemy is becoming the main way to achieve the goals of the battle and operation,” Mr. Gerasimov noted in his article, which the head of the US Corps marines Robert Neller, in his own words, re-read it three times. “All this is complemented by covert military measures, including the implementation of information confrontation measures and the actions of special operations forces.”
Mr. Gerasimov is married and has a son. The future general was born in 1955 in a working-class family in the city of Kazan, located on the banks of the Volga, about 800 kilometers east of Moscow. There he graduated from the Higher Tank Command School.
Gerasimov rapidly made a career in the tank forces of the Red Army. He served in different parts Soviet Union, commanded the 58th Army in the North Caucasus, fought in Chechnya. For some time he was chief of staff of the Far Eastern Military District, and then commanded the troops of the St. Petersburg and Moscow military districts, and then became deputy chief of the general staff. He was removed from this position after a confrontation with his boss, but returned five months later to replace him as head of the General Staff.
“I believe that all the activities of the General Staff should be aimed at achieving one main goal - maintaining the combat capability of the Armed Forces,” he told Vladimir Putin on the day of his appointment. However, many doubt the existence of the Gerasimov Doctrine as a comprehensive strategy.
“As far as I understand, [Mr] Gerasimov was trying to explain how the West is acting against Russia, not how Russia should act,” said Ruslan Pukhov, director of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies. - In the West, many people try to present him as a strategist and visionary. However, in reality, he is a pure military man.”
Mr. Gerasimov met with NATO Military Committee Chairman Petr Pavel last week to reassure him that Exercise Zapad is defensive in nature and does not pose a threat to other countries. However, in both Poland and the Baltics, many are alarmed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and fear that the head of the Russian General Staff may take advantage of war games and plan a similar provocation.
“We must not copy someone else's experience and catch up with the leading countries, but work ahead of the curve and be in the lead ourselves,” he emphasized in the year 2013 in his text.
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Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov is the Russian military chief, as well as the military chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. He currently holds the honorary title of General of the Army and has been a Hero of Russia since 2016.
Childhood
The birthplace of Valery Gerasimov is the city of Kazan of the Republic of Tatarstan. He was born on the eighth of September 1955. His family is simple and ordinary. But even in early childhood, playing war games, the boy decided that he would become a military man, and all his life he strove for this.
But his interest in the military profession began to manifest itself only after the colorful and detailed stories of his uncle, who was a participant in the war, were listened to. The uncle of the future general commanded a tank company.
AT school years big influence the boy was exposed to the stories of Konstantin Simonov, which he not only read quickly, enjoying this reading, but also re-read them several times in order to remember all the details and details.
Education
Understanding his son's desire to become a military man, Valery's father sent his documents to Suvorov School when he finished fourth grade. But all the places in the Kazan School were taken, so Valery Gerasimov waited another four years to try again. But during this time the boy's desire did not disappear, but only became even stronger.
In 1971, his wish came true, and Valery Gerasimov became a member of Suvorov. And in 1973 he graduated with honors, but the training did not end there. Already in the same year, he entered the Higher Tank School, which was located in his hometown. After graduating in 1977 with a bronze medal, he immediately enters military academy named after Marshal Malinovsky. After graduating with honors, the young man soon submitted documents to the military academy of the general staff, where Valery Gerasimov was able to establish himself as the best student and student of courses. At this time, he already had the rank of colonel.
Military career
Army General Valery Gerasimov began his military activities in 1977 in the troops of the Northern Group, where at first he was the commander of a tank platoon. After graduating from the Academy of the General Staff in 1987, he was immediately sent to the Baltic Military District, and then to Poland.
In 1991, when the country was undergoing a change political system, Valery Gerasimov was in the Baltic States, where he served as deputy commander of a motorized rifle division. Then he also began to head the headquarters, so the transfer to the Moscow Military District soon followed. Valery Gerasimov was appointed First Deputy Commander Russian army.
Then for two years he served in the Far Eastern District. And only after that, in 2005, Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov received the post of head of the Main Directorate of the Armed Forces. But the career of Valery Vasilyevich did not end there.
Participation in hostilities in the North Caucasus
Military people do not seek to look for simple and easy ways in their lives, therefore they always strive to go where their experience, knowledge and skills can be useful and serve the benefit of the people. The same desires constantly move many military leaders, among whom was Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov. As soon as they started fighting in the North Caucasus, he immediately asked to go there.
For the first time, he participated in military events in the Caucasus in the period from 1993 to 1997. He served with the rank of commander of a motorized rifle division. He showed himself as a brave and courageous person. But the biography of Valery Gerasimov never developed simply. Therefore, in 1997, he was transferred from the Northwestern Military District to the North Caucasian Military District, where he participated in hostilities even before 2003. By choosing the fifty-eighth army, he was able to head the headquarters.
At the same time, he became a participant not only in fierce battles, but also in counter-terrorist operations. But first, at the headquarters, he was engaged in recruiting personnel and closely following the combat training of all personnel. But not only was the work in the rear. So, he was instructed to lead one of the operations in Chechnya, which took place in the Bamut direction.
The battle group, commanded by a general of the Russian army, was ambushed and barely managed to break through to his troops thanks to helicopters that fought from the air. The reverse operation soon followed, in which there were absolutely no losses among Russian soldiers, but those militants who had recently shot Russian commanders and fighters right at point-blank range were killed and captured. After that, there were several more operations that, under the command of Valery Vasilyevich, were very successful.
Participation in Ukrainian events
In 2014, when there was a crisis in Ukraine, Gerasimov Valery was on the sanctions list of the European Union, and then Canada. He was accused of being involved in the delivery of the Buk to the territory of the DPR, and was also accused of launching a rocket at his command that shot down a Boeing 777, where all passengers died.
Therefore, already in 2015, the Ukrainian military prosecutor's office issued a decision according to which he was considered not only the main military ideologist, but more than ten military cases were attributed to him. A decision was made on his arrest in absentia, and Valery Gerasimov was put on the wanted list.
Personal life of General Gerasimov
In his family life, Valery Vasilyevich is very happy, since his wife has been his reliable assistant, friend and support throughout the entire marriage. In this marriage there is also a child - a son.
Currently, Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov has a huge number of awards, but continues to serve his Fatherland.
Tension in society has been tearing nerves for three years and dividing people into different groups of political allegiances. Some take it for granted, humorously releasing phrases like "don't rock the boat" and "otherwise Putin will attack." And someone is seriously sure that the hand of Russia and its special operations is visible in this tension. Especially considering that some of the politicians and activists involved in creating tension are somehow connected with it.
Among those who believe that the Kremlin's hand is involved in the current tension is Molly K. McCue, an expert in information warfare and strategic communications. By strange coincidence she was an adviser to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili from 2009 to 2013, and to former Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat in 2014-15. And now her analytics concerns the actions of one of her former clients.
Below is a translation of a fragment of the article, which you can read in its entirety.
Lately, it seems that Russia is attacking the United States from all possible angles, which sometimes contradict each other. Russian bots improved the results of Donald Trump during the election campaign, but at the same time, the Kremlin media portray him as a weakling. Vladimir Putin is kicking American diplomats out of Russia, limiting the kind of warm relationship he himself sought to establish with the administration. The U.S. Congress is stepping up its tough stance on Russia, with plenty of headlines screaming that Putin's bet on Trump has failed...
Confusing?
Only if you do not understand the essence of the Gerasimov doctrine.
Gerasimov connected Soviet tactics with the strategic military idea of total war and outlined a new theory of modern warfare - it looks more like a hacking into the enemy's society than a direct attack. He wrote: “The very rules of war have changed. The role of non-military means of achieving political and strategic goals has increased, in many cases it significantly exceeds even the force of arms in terms of effectiveness. [...] All this is complemented by covert military measures.”
Many consider this article a useful explanation of Russia's current strategy, a vision of total war in which politics and military confrontation are in the same range of activity from both a philosophical and practical point of view. This approach is partisan. It is applied on all fronts involving various actors and tools such as hackers, media, businessmen, information leaks and of course fake news, in addition to conventional and asymmetric warfare. Thanks to the Internet and social media, operations are now possible, which Soviet specialists in the conduct of psychological warfare could only dream. It is possible to turn the internal affairs of entire countries upside down with the help of information alone.
The Gerasimov Doctrine provides the basis for these new tools. According to her, non-military tactics are not auxiliary means following the use of force, but an expedient way to win. They are, in fact, the real war. Chaos is the strategy followed by the Kremlin. Gerasimov writes that the goal is to achieve an atmosphere of constant unrest and conflict in a hostile country.
Does it work? Former Russian satellites Georgia, Estonia and Lithuania have sounded the alarm in recent years about Russian attempts to influence their domestic politics and security issues. At the same time, the Obama administration underestimated the possibility of a new Cold War. But all three countries now have parties in power with Russian financial ties that are mildly advocating a more open approach to Moscow.
In Ukraine, Russia has been using the Gerasimov Doctrine for several recent years. During the protests in 2014, the Kremlin supported extremists from both sides of the confrontation - pro-Russian forces and Ukrainian ultra-nationalists, fomenting a conflict that Russia used as a pretext for annexing Crimea and starting a war in eastern Ukraine. Throw in information warfare and a murky environment in which everyone questions their neighbor's motives and virtually no one wants to be a hero - that's exactly the kind of environment in which it's easier for the Kremlin to exercise control. This is the Gerasimov doctrine in action.
USA is the last target. Police state Russia considers America its main enemy. Russia knows that it cannot compete with us economically, militarily or technologically. Therefore, it creates new battlefields. She does not seek to become stronger than us - she wants to weaken us until we sink to her level. Russia may not have hacked the American electoral system, however, the selective amplification of targeted disinformation and disinformation on social media (sometimes using hacked material) and the formation of information alliances with certain groups in the United States likely secured victory. in an important battle that most Americans were not even aware of.
The US electoral system is the heart of the most powerful democracy in the world. And now, thanks to Russia's actions, we have a nationwide debate about its legitimacy. We are at war with ourselves, and the enemy has not fired a single shot. "Information warfare opens up wide asymmetric opportunities to reduce the combat potential of the enemy," writes Gerasimov. (He also writes about using "internal opposition to create a constantly active front throughout the territory of a hostile state").
Not all observers who follow Russia agree on the importance of the Gerasimov Doctrine. Some believe that this is just a clearer formulation of what Russia has always done. Or that Putin was inflated to the scale of the almighty Scarecrow. Or that the rivalry between different oligarchic factions in the Kremlin points to the absence of a central strategic goal in all their activities. However, there is no doubt that Russian intervention is systematic and multi-layered. Such a structure is a serious challenge for us, since we do not always recognize its implementation in practice. Like any guerrilla doctrine, it involves the accumulation of decentralized resources, which makes it difficult to find and monitor its manifestations. And strategically, its goals are different from what we are used to. The Kremlin does not pick a winner - it weakens the enemy and creates an environment in which everyone but the Kremlin loses.
And this is precisely the true strength of Gerasimov-style shadow warfare - it is very difficult to resist an enemy that you cannot see and whose existence you are not sure. But this is not a flawless approach - the shadowy intrigues on which the Gerasimov doctrine is based make it extremely vulnerable. Her tactics stop working, one has only to show how the mechanism works and what its goals are. This requires leadership and a clear understanding of the threat. What we saw clearly in France when the government warned voters about Russian information operations on the eve of the presidential election. Alas, America still has no idea even how to defend against the threat, let alone retaliate.
What can we take away from this analysis?
The Gerasimov Doctrine exists. And the internal struggle in Ukraine bears all the signs of its implementation with the help of politicians, corrupt media and external information influence. At some point, a certain pool was formed that creates tension, and it has supporters who sincerely believe in the correctness of their actions. And all that is needed today is to increase tension so that the number of these supporters approaches some kind of critical mass sufficient to create controlled chaos within the country.
Molly also speaks directly about the Kremlin's sponsorship of both pro-Russian organizations and nationalists. And I think that she has something to base these conclusions on. This means that a person who looks like a patriot and fights against internal occupation may well have some kind of account in a Swiss bank, which accumulates funds for a comfortable old age. Did you know that the child of the most famous nationalist Kokhanivsky is studying abroad at an expensive university? What apartment does he live in? Would you be surprised how much money the opportunity to be Ukrainian nationalist who is able to make and sell a mess, waving the Ukrainian flag along the way. She also directly points to the method of warfare according to the Gerasimov doctrine in the form of creating an “internal opposition”. What we saw recently, when a number of politicians, including pro-Russian ones, gathered under the wing of Saakashvili, trying to unite their electorates to achieve a critical mass - despite all the previous differences, which went as far as mutual accusations of working for the Kremlin. What suddenly forced the ideological enemies to unite? Too many coincidences with the Gerasimov doctrine.
Be that as it may, one must understand: "we are being played." Someone in this game is a pawn - and not out of ignorance, but for ideological reasons. Hatred for the current ruling coalition, which does not suit the Kremlin, has been nurtured in him, and they are ready to play against it, without looking back at what kind of individuals stand next to and behind their backs. Well, individual "patriots" are quite good at stuffing their pockets as a result of these actions.
What's worse is that the US will not be able to help us sort out this problem. The author speaks directly about this. This means that Ukraine can only rely on itself in the fight against this threat. And this threat from year to year becomes more and more significant. And the final result has already been predicted by Molly - another Dodon at the helm of Ukraine. How then Russia will come off in a country that has butted against it for several years is not difficult to imagine.
