Friday, March 18, 2022

Was Russia in the 1990s the new Weimar Republic?

I am afraid that the reforms in the Soviet Union that lead to more openness could bring a similar story as the Weimar Republic, in Germany between the two world wars.

From what I gather, Germany's former enemies didn't respond that well to the country's struggles. There were some brief attempts at openness in Germany during that period, but the hardships are said to have fueled the rise of Adolph Hitler.

To some extent the western nations have fumbled the ball. There were attempts to try and help Russia and the former Soviet Republics, but also mistakes. Expansion of NATO was possibly a mistake.

Even breakup of Soviet Union was probably premature. I remember when Soviet leader Gorbachev was trying to reform the Soviet Union. He traveled to one of the Baltic Republics to try and convince them to stay in the union.

Not long after that, the union broke up with some increased economic turmoil. This can lead to the push for someone who can "get the trains running on time" again.

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