Once You Have Been There....

It is going to haunt you for the rest of your life, as it did Dostoevsky, and I know this city for 37 years...

 

Putin's Gastrobar And The Mystery Of NATO Waffle.

Never ending dispute about Russia's civilizational affiliation is, indeed, never ending--one gets this idea whenever one visits any serious Russian urban center. Come to think about it, even not so much urban centers increasingly do exhibit this Russian dilemma of the state of being torn between Asia and Europe. I have to go with Limonov's assessment here, again--Russia is Europe now. Not current Europe, obviously, despite Russia as a whole exhibiting all attributes of "western" modernity from Wi-Fi even in the underground (Metro) to public restrooms, to a lines in the hip joints, to shopping malls, to whatever else makes place look like a European, that is Western, place. 

Getting into St.Petersburg and encountering gigantic crowds of West Europeans, from Portuguese and Italians to armies of Germans and Spaniards doing their touristy osmosis (or diffusion, if you will) into St.Pete's environments (see, I do not write about ever-present Chinese and Indians--half of our Sapsan to and from St.Petersburg was occupied by them, BTW) makes you think why these people flock to Russia in general and St.Petersburg in particular thus making it for a number of years in a row the number one destination in Europe? Then it occurred to me, observing German family with children standing in a front of Eliseevsky and watching figurines of old Russian bakers and merchants moving around (up and down too) in the front window--it is a typical nonchalant, no excuses required, Russian contemporary attitude towards all those Westerners who visit Mother-Russia which makes it click and is so attractive, granted one appreciates both scale and immense cultural significance of both Moscow and St.Petersburg. It is an easy attitude of a very confident nation and civilization--it is absolutely not afraid nor gives a damn about showing its both bright and dark sides. Yet, as my son noted, a huge number of pairs of young men and women walking together, hugging and kissing--it is a sight to behold today. The same as a bunch of bands setting up on Nevsky and delivering some good rock-n-roll and blues--Dostoevsky would have loved that. 

Me and my dear friend were sitting in one of the pubs and he confessed--he said he couldn't believe himself a miracle of this revival. It is a miracle--from a new wealth to an absolute confidence on the streets. Yes, Russians always are bitching and whining--it is a Russian thing--but each time I get to the country I see something special. This time in Leningrad it was SPIEF with France's Macron, Japan's Abe and other luminaries (with American business delegation being by far the largest) arriving to Putin's favorite city to talk and do business and... you should have seen those girls from MVD University being deployed for additional security. Russians are keenly aware of themselves being now a global player of immense significance. They are also very aware of Washington and NATO. 

Yet, similar to St.Petersburg's warnings about parking in the wrong places, promising the cars in the wrong being towed away and owners eaten, there is always a good deal of fun to be had at the expense of NATO. Novyi Arbat in Moscow featured Putin's Gastrobar and a mysterious dish called NATO Waffle. One can only guess what that is--we didn't have time for this joint, being attracted to gastronomical riches of Obed-Buffet (the best A La Carte place in the world--yes, they even serve Scotch and Jack) but the next time... 

Moscow, certainly, has her own version of hip (me and Israel Shamir had a lovely rendezvous there), but the joint with the title Funny Kabany (Kaban being a Boar in Russian) decided to treat the title literally--they do have funny and lovely boar hanging around visitors and one can not resist feeding this lovely thing cucumbers. 

So, this is Russia today where hope springs eternal as is the discussion on what Russia really is. My answer comes from a magnificent Tretyakov Gallery when looking at Russian art and recognizing Russia's history and aspirations as universal, as a spring from which anyone can quench their thirst. 

On St.Petersburg's Terrorist Act.

I am not going to elaborate here--everything is as clear as possible. Most of the immediate details of Islamic Wahhabi atrocity in St. Petersburg are already known. The issue now is to find those who "ordered" it, albeit it is known by anyone with more than once cell in their brains. But among pathetic reaction of Europe to St. Petersburg's tragedy, suddenly a courageous and unexpectedly warm voice from Daily Mail.  

 

Why did the liberals care more about four dead in London than 14 dead in St Petersburg? Or do they hate Putin so much that Russians don't count? 

I applaud Katie Hopkins for her great rant: 

Only Trump called to offer support. And only Tel Aviv lit up the City Hall with the colours of the Russian flag. Thank God for the decency of these two leaders — for both of whom the threat posed by Islamic extremism is so stark.

I didn't doubt for a second that Trump will call Putin immediately. And it is a very warm gesture from Israel to fly Russia's colors--gestures do matter. The rest? You know, who cares, after all those are merely Russians. I imply no bitterness nor thirst for sympathy, by now Russians do not care about EU's political class and its views, everything has been said long ago. But I, being a non-religious man, still would say--pray for St. Petersburg.   

Plans Within Plans....

There is a reason I quoted Frank Herber's Dune in the title of this post. Sure, Erdogan arrived to St. Petersburg and  held meeting with Putin. Many general statements were made but nothing changed and it shouldn't. Here is a decent piece of analysis from TASS news agency:

Analysts: Strategic triangle of Russia-Iran-Turkey hardly on agenda.

Fact is, I don't know where did this "triangle" idea come from? Ever Eurasianism-mongering Alexander Dugin went as far as to claim that fates of nations and even of civilizations were being decided in St. Petersburg and that Erdogan-Putin meeting was "historic". Well, it certainly was not and for a simple reason--Turkey needs Russia for her bargaining with EU and US.  True, after the coup attempt and seeing its proxies being obliterated by SAA and Russian Air-Space Forces in Syria, and with economic noose around her neck as a result of reckless downing of Russian SU-24, Turkey needs Russia, but only so far.  Yes, there is a very lucrative deal in the offering--Turkish Stream plus some other economic projects, but Turkey still remains a NATO member and firmly in the grasp, however slightly weakened, of Atlantist structures and she will remain there for a foreseeable future. 

Once all this lofty rhetoric about Russians and Turks bound to be friends and even allies dissipates, the reality remains unchanged--no alliances of any kind are possible between Russia and Turkey. Milking each-other for economic and geopolitical benefits--that is a totally different matter and this is precisely what happened in St. Petersburg. Russia needs a leverage of Turkish Stream to both bypass Ukraine (or whatever it became now) and to improve her position vis-a-vis Europe and this has been, all things considered, achieved. Yes, this is, actually, huge but hardly historic let alone implying any possible alliances or "triangles". After all, Iran is not exactly Russia's friend either and the status of Caspian Sea is still being discussed. Plus Iran is a player in the region and does not always like Russian influence there. For now, what happened in St.Petersburg is mostly economic discussion with hard questions of war in Syria left to be discussed later. I would say--good movement, or, rather, step in the right direction but no more than that.  But there are plans within plans and we may only guess what they are, since the play with Turkey (and Iran) is merely an episode, however important. My guess is that, in the end, the big play is for Europe, the real one, and the only goal here is to save her from herself and those who see her as merely a marketplace. Call it a hunch but, in the end, Russia, like no other, has an experience of saving Europe and paying the price with others taking credit. How it will be done? I wish I did know what Putin does;-)