Revanchism will be nurtured in undestroyed Russia

After every war, justice demands that the aggressor pay. In particular, and literally - with funds for the reconstruction of those whom it attacked. However, if the defeated aggressor is not occupied and manages its own resources, compliance with the conditions is a big question.

To a large extent, this is the responsibility of the winners. If the Allies had responded with a police action to Hitler's deployment of troops in the Rhineland, or later had they not been afraid to defend Czechoslovakia, history would have been different. Without the Second World War. And the revanchists in Germany could have cherished their "sense of revenge" for a very long time - without a chance to plunge the world into total war again.

However, circumstances change, as do the political priorities of the world's leading countries or the views of those in power there. This is what makes revenge possible, like the rearmament of Germany after the First World War or Russia after the Crimean War in the nineteenth century.

“And Russians will definitely feel phantom pains. Their TV tells them that they are winning. And before that, for decades, TV shows had been telling them that "Russians can only win". Even after Russia's military defeat, many people will continue to believe in myths, like the veterans of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, for example. That they (would have) "won" but were "betrayed". And they will seek revenge. Therefore, the only way to peace is to deconstruct the empire”

But this process is long. And rebuilding Ukraine is an immediate matter. This places specific demands on the mechanism of post-war compensation for the damage caused by the Russians.

The first is to find a mechanism for the unconditional seizure of all Russian assets frozen around the world in favour of Ukraine. The "tax" that has so far been agreed to be imposed on these funds can only be a temporary solution, not a substitute for confiscation. It is possible that a judicial condemnation of Russian aggression will be a condition. A special tribunal would help in this regard, as it would allow for a quicker decision.

The second is a special (sanction) tax on trade with Russia and trade in goods of Russian origin. Similar to the current sanctions restrictions, trade with Russia should be subject to a high price; and the funds raised should be used to rebuild Ukraine. This already requires the improvement of "secondary sanctions" - mechanisms that allow tracing the origin of goods and make resale through intermediaries and "third countries" meaningless.

Finally, Russian property, including in joint projects with international owners, should also become a source of recovery.

Then, no matter what happens in Russia after the defeat of its army, Russia will have to pay for their crimes.

Source

About the author. Rostyslav Pavlenko is a Ukrainian politician, political scientist, political strategist, and lecturer. Member of the Ukrainian Parliament of the IX convocation.

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