Caution: Russia

Financier and grant giver George Soros called on Europe to unite in the face of the threat of geopolitical aggression emanating from Russia and its attempts to make the former Soviet republics its satellites. In the article “Alternative Geopolitics: The Russian Problem,” published by Vedomosti, he writes that different European countries react to “unfriendly Russia on their eastern borders” in different ways, while “now more than ever, it is important for the EU pursue a unified policy, coordinating various national interests and positions.”

As Soros explains, the values ​​of Europe, the principles of an “open, democratic, peaceful, prosperous and law-abiding society” are quite attractive to residents of the former USSR. But the West did not reinforce these principles in their address, so now the mentioned residents are disappointed and offended, and Putin was able to play on this and won their support by attacking the West. “Nevertheless,” continues Soros, “Russia remains sensitive to European charm. Russia has always strived to be part of Europe, and the country's leadership recognizes that returning to Soviet-style isolation will come at a hefty price."

Soros writes that although Russia is strong in its geopolitical position, it is weak in other areas: private business is weak, innovation is weak, law is weak, production is weak. Therefore, Europe needs to simultaneously protect itself from the Russian geopolitical threat and “strive to ensure that the rule of law supplants the rule of the strong, and the desire for democracy, open society and international cooperation prevails over geopolitics.”

The main way to neutralize Russia's geopolitical advantage is a unified European energy policy: it is necessary to establish a pan-European regulator and create a pan-European distribution network - then Russia will not be able to pit European countries against each other, and all countries will receive the same discounts.

With the support of the rule of law and the desire for international cooperation and the principles of an open society, things must be a little trickier. Soros recommends reforming the international financial system taking into account Russia's neighboring countries. Ukraine could be helped by funding public works to create jobs in the east of the country, “suffering from the decline of metallurgy,” and Georgia could be helped to recover from the consequences of the war. (Soros, however, stipulates that “the amount of assistance should depend on the willingness of the Saakashvili regime to comply with the principles of an open society.”)

Russia could also be helped directly, but so far “its excessive dependence on the arbitrariness of state power” does not allow this to be done. But, having seen how international cooperation is developing, it is unlikely to remain on the sidelines.