Putin turned to Hitler for help

Photo: Reuters

Today German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrived in Russia for a visit. At a meeting of the St. Petersburg Dialogue forum, Vladimir Putin, when it came to discussing the merits of the punk band Pussy Riot, said:

“We hear our partners. But they hear what is happening, being far away. Madam Federal Chancellor mentioned the girls who are in prison for speaking in church. Does she know that before that one of them hung an effigy of a Jew and said that Moscow needs to be rid of such people? You and I cannot support people who take anti-Semitic positions."

Even on the eve of Merkel’s visit, it was clear that her conversation with Putin would not be easy: not only had the Bundestag adopted a tough resolution on relations with Russia, but also German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle called on Merkel to conduct a “critical dialogue” with the Russian government.

From the Bundestag resolution:

The Bundestag notes with particular concern that since President Putin took office again, legislative and legal measures have been taken that are collectively aimed at strengthening control over active citizens, criminalizing acts containing criticism and marking confrontation with individuals critical of the government. This clearly contradicts the promises voiced by President Putin during the election campaign regarding strengthening interaction with society and abandoning the “repressive bias” of the system for protecting public interests in Russia.

By and large, it doesn’t matter at all that Vladimir Putin doesn’t understand contemporary art. It also doesn’t matter that he didn’t figure out who and why the activists of the Voina art group were hanging (this action - the public hanging of three guest workers and two homosexuals - was “gifted” to Yuri Luzhkov, a fighter against gay pride parades and migrants, on City Day). Something else is important.

Through the bureaucratic style of official speech, a simple message breaks through. The President of Russia, who recently opened the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center in Moscow and even transferred his monthly salary to its fund, told the German Chancellor the following: “Are you coming to us with your democratic values? Have you forgotten about the Holocaust? Have you forgotten how the stoves smoked in Dachau? Have you forgotten what you did with your Jews? We take care of our own. And our current crimes are child’s play compared to yours. If you don’t want any more reminders, don’t interfere.”

In public dialogues, Vladimir Putin regularly resorts to the “he’s a fool” argument and doesn’t look brilliant.

But today’s move “if you have nothing to cover, remind the Germans about the Holocaust” is nothing more than a reductio ad Hitlerum . A logical trick that punches the interlocutor in the gut and leaves him no chance to continue the conversation: after mentioning the Holocaust, there is nothing more to talk about and nothing more to discuss.