MeToo in Putin's style

Somehow, postmodern social trends, seemingly far removed from politics, penetrate the highest spheres of the global establishment, acquiring new, often disgusting features. The blurred boundaries of decency, acceptability, and possibility, as well as the dubious fame of influencers with audiences of millions, push the "powers that be" to commit adventurous, or rather not very wise, acts.

Once upon a time, much of international diplomacy was shrouded in mystery, and not all the details of the relationships between its characters, conflicts, quarrels, and funny situations emerged from the shadows. At best, they became the property of an interested public decades later, when one of the "greats" decided to write a memoir.

Things are different now. The digital world, as well as the speed at which information is disseminated, and thus the temptation to make it public at the same pace, dictates its own rules. That's why the sharpest "awls" come out of the bag, shocking the public, but also teaching it useful lessons about how to treat certain actors on the global political scene.

“The digital world, as well as the speed at which information is disseminated, and thus the temptation to make it public at the same pace, dictates its own rules. That's why the sharpest "awls" come out of the bag, shocking the public, but also teaching it useful lessons about how to treat certain actors on the global political scene.”

Boris Johnson, for example, admitted that he had been subjected to "nuclear harassment" by the Kremlin recluse. “At some point, he (Putin - Author) seemed to threaten me and said: 'Boris, I don't want to hurt you, but with a missile, it will only take a minute,' or something like that,” Johnson said in the documentary Putin Vs the West.

Johnson was probably not laughing at the time, as Britain had already been the target of a chemical attack in Salisbury, when two Russian spies poisoned their former colleague, defector Sergei Skripal, and his daughter.

The British ex-prime minister claims that the Russian "tsar" was "very familiar" when he said the phrase about the missile. Apparently, this nuance has led to the creation of the "nuclear MeToo" meme by online mockers. This is, of course, referring to the social action-flash mob against sexual violence and sexual harassment that spread on social media in October 2017 as a result of the sex scandal surrounding film producer Harvey Weinstein. 

Putin, of course, is far from a Hollywood womanizer-criminal, but it so happened that, as if playing along with this, in my opinion, rather sordid game, other politicians began to admit to the Moscow maniac's nuclear aspirations. John Sullivan, the former US Ambassador to Russia, said that his colleagues told him about the same thing they heard from Putin and people around him. Sullivan says that “if I had allowed myself to say that in a conversation with anyone, Biden would have immediately recalled me and probably sent me to a psychiatrist.”

“Putin, of course, is far from a Hollywood womanizer-criminal, but it so happened that, as if playing along with this, in my opinion, rather sordid game, other politicians began to admit to the Moscow maniac's nuclear aspirations.”

But Biden should not have expected any special testimony from his diplomat, as the Russian dictator has repeatedly and publicly voiced his "nuclear claims" to the world. That's why Dmitry Peskov had no reason to go on camera to accuse Johnson of "lying." Threats to use nuclear weapons to "protect Russia's sovereign interests" have long been nothing exceptional, let alone psychic.

Some contemporaries believe that each new nuclear attack by the "lustful Putin" indicates that he is raising the stakes in the war with Ukraine. But, as for me, there have been so many of these attacks of "nuclear sexism" that it is quite appropriate to conclude the banal. Putin is once again pulling out the nuclear card when he simply has nothing to say. And he knew in advance that such statements would cause a media storm, including through memes. Let's just recall his nonsense about a "nuclear paradise" that he "reserved" for Russians in case of a nuclear apocalypse. Or the cartoons with a simulated nuclear strike on Manhattan with Sarmat missiles. Despite the fact that jokers and experts almost suddenly exposed Putin's fake, there was plenty of talk…

“Putin behaves like a gopnik from St. Petersburg. He frightens lonely ladies or "nerds" with a shiv, and when his "victims" pull out a pepper spray for self-defense, he starts crying for help. Like, I'm the victim, they started it…”

Putin actually behaves like a gopnik from St. Petersburg. He frightens lonely ladies or "nerds" with a shiv, and when his "victims" pull out a pepper spray for self-defense, he starts crying for help. Like, I'm the victim, they started it…

Therefore, comparing him to Harvey Weinstein is, in my opinion, incorrect. The latter at least had "grounds" for counting on "success" among beauties: fame, money, the illusion of a future career. And what does Putin have? A Soviet-era nuclear arsenal that has hardly been properly maintained, if not stolen by the ubiquitous army warrant officers.

And the MeToo tool is hardly relevant in this case. There is an international anti-Putin coalition that apparently has no intention of signing any petitions or organizing demonstrations. It is simply quietly collecting weapons and setting up their production to help Ukraine put down the rampaging rapist.

About the author. Ihor Hulyk, journalist, Editor-in-Chief of the Espreso.West website. 

The editors do not always share the opinions expressed by the authors of the blogs.