China’s state-run Global Times on Monday offered support to Russia and its authoritarian ruler, Vladimir Putin, musing the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a “geopolitical disaster” for which the West has never offered Moscow sufficient condolences.
In the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) warped view of history, the “vicious” United States and its allies victimized Russia because they didn’t properly thank the Evil Empire for imploding:
Many Russians once believed that when the Communist Party stepped down and the Soviet Union collapsed, the US and the West would embrace Russia and respect them who had taken the initiative to end the Cold War. The reality, however, is harsh. Moscow has received no gratitude or kindness from the West. From the moment the Soviet Union collapsed, the US has arrogantly treated Russia as a defeated country in the Cold War, engaging in all possible moves to suppress Russia at will.
The collapse of the Soviet Union was a geopolitical disaster for Russia. As the dominant power in the Soviet Union, if it chose to support reforms to solve problems at the beginning, Russia could pay a much smaller price than the geopolitical price it would pay in the following 30 years. Back then, Moscow had a broad sphere of influence and powerful control capability that it could act independently and defiantly against Washington. But it has ceded those geopolitical resources, giving up its advantages.
The article went on to condemn America’s “vicious attitude toward Russia” following the collapse, which allegedly caught naive Soviets expecting that “a political change of course would fundamentally change their relationship with the US” by surprise.
The Global Times suggested the “extremely untrustworthy” United States sabotaged the noble Soviet Union by “infiltrating” it and triggering the first of many “color revolutions” it has waged against lovable tyrannies around the globe.
Uncle Sam can forget about running that play against the most winsome tyranny of all, because Beijing carefully studied the fall of the Soviet Union and got “politically vaccinated” against American subterfuge.
“The Chinese people must protect the fruitful achievements of the People’s Republic of China, and remain sober-minded about the US’ repeated deceptive clamor that the strategic game between the US and China is a battle between ‘democracies and autocracies,’” the autocrats urged.
The Chinese have not made any indication they have genuine concerns about Russia suffering under sanctions for the abuse of dissident Alexei Navalny or feeling pressure as NATO countries line up to support Ukraine; they merely wish to keep hammering their argument that democracy is not morally superior to authoritarianism, and authoritarian China will be a more stable, rational, and reliable world hegemon than democratic America. In Beijing’s view, the collapse of the Soviet Union inflicted grievous harm upon global stability, far in excess of any corresponding gain for abstract ideals like “freedom” or “human rights.”