History.com reported that the current tension between the United States and Russia is very similar to the Cold War years, 1947-91.
The Russian Federation stated on Friday, March 16, 2018, that it would expel 23 British embassy staff from Moscow. Tensions between Russia and the United Kingdom of Great Britan and Northern Ireland have been on the rise since a double agent from Moscow was poisoned in England.
Elizabeth Palmer, a CBS News correspondent, reported that a British Ambassador to the former Soviet Union was called to the Foreign Ministry in Moscow on Saturday, March 17. The Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Russia said the Kremlin officials advised him that they would retaliate for the previous expulsion of Russian diplomats from London.
Palmer stated that high-scale international differences would follow an obvious repetition. The incident in England was no different. It was only a question of when the Russian state would take their action.
The British Parliament determined the 23 Russian diplomats expelled from the U.K. were undeclared intelligence agents from the Kremlin. In turn, Russia retaliated by expelling 23 British diplomats from their homeland.
Furthermore, Moscow stated that it was rescinding approval for Great Britain to open a new consular office in St. Petersburg. Moreover, the British Council, which is a United Kingdom federal organization based in Moscow will be closed. The organization is dedicated to scientific and cultural cooperation between the two countries.
London accused the Kremlin of poisoning ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in Salisbury, England. The accusations were stated shortly after the execution that was carried out with Novichok a fatal chemical nerve agent.
No Peace in Sight as Vladimir Putin Wins Election
NPR reported that Vladimir Putin was re-elected as president in a landslide victory by 76 percent. He will continue to run the country until the next election in 2024.
NPR reported that by 2024 Putin will have ruled the country for a quarter of a century. The only leader in the Kremlin who ran Russia longer was Joseph Stalin. He ran the country before the Cold War years when tension broke out between the U.S. and Russia.
Veteran Journalist Fyodor Lukyanov believes this next six years should be the leader’s final term in power. His end goal was to bring the resurrected military world power back to the center global stage. His master plan will outlast him, according to Lukyanov when he was a guest on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered” in Moscow on Monday, March 19.
Since 1946, 51 autocratic parties have lost rigged elections. It is more common for dictators to lose power in non-democracies, such as Russia. In fact, rulers usually lose power from within the political oligarchy, according to Fox News.
Over 60 percent of authoritarian tyrants have lost power through various revolutions exercised by former members of the elite class since 1946. Street protests challenge rulers in masses, as well.
There is the threat of a Color Revolution, which is similar to the coups in Former Soviet Republics such as Georgia, Ukraine, and Kyrgyzstan. These revolutions occurred from 2003 to 2005 and were very similar to the Cold War years between the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A.
By John A. Federico
Edited by Cathy Milne
Sources:
History.com: 755 Staff Ordered Out: Putin’s Crippling Blow to the U.S. Embassy in Russia
CBS This Morning: Russia retaliates in escalating feud over U.K. nerve agent attack
NPR: After Election Landslide, It’s Putin’s Russia (More Than Ever)
Fox News: Putin cares about Russia’s presidential election. You should too
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