The Parallels of the USA and Russia, and Imminent and Looming Dangers
The USA has, since Trump, been embarking on a path that is reminiscent of Russia in more ways than one, albeit a combination of different periods, including during the Soviet period. I will break down some of these observations we can make.
I will preface this by saying I’m not an eminent expert on the intricacies of Russian politics. That would be a lie, and while some may think because they once visited a Russian Telegram channel that they’re now an expert, I refuse to do so.
However, I do know about ideology. I know about democracy. I have a good grasp of history and political processes in general, and, well, I think it is worth spelling some warnings out. The issue of American democratic backsliding is hardly new. But I’ve yet to see this angle explored much.
- Oligarchal Capture
This is probably the most overt example. We have seen how, with Trump, a huge amount of power and financial benefits have been shared with large corporations, many of whom are major donors. This includes Silicon Valley companies like social media companies, Google, OpenAI, or Palantir and its lucrative military and surveillance contracts, the cuts to regulations and taxes, and so on, not to mention the various lobbies.
Obviously, there’s the example of Elon Musk, who, while he is getting cut off by the White House, will no doubt have influence over the state and collaborate with Trump. It’s more than a few bad companies getting tax breaks; it’s a fundamentally oligarchal capture of the US presidency and government, with unrepresentative power and influence over day-to-day activities of its functioning, in turn, affecting the lives of the US citizens. Even if Musk is gone (IF), there will be someone else, and there will be a lot of fewer public displays of cronyism and corruption.
We saw this with Russia, after the collapse of the USSR, Yeltsin had close relationships with the new oligarchs that arose, propping him up and getting favours in return. Putin, while elected on a platform to clean politics up and went on to arrest some oligarchs, continued the tradition but with his own favoured oligarchs. Government contracts, tax breaks, bribes, all this went in a cycle. We don’t have to look far to see the similarities here.
2. Concentration of Executive Power
One of the major reasons Russia is how it is today is that President Yeltsin, who, by the way, got the blessing and backing of the USA in the 90s to keep the communists out, concentrated power into the executive, as opposed to parliament. This high degree of power allowed him to rule in many facets of Russian life, but as a notorious drunk and supposed capitalist, he generally did little to improve the lives of the citizens or interfere much at all. However, Putin did not exactly reverse this trend; in fact, he has consolidated and enhanced it over time. This is how he has been able to wage a war which many of his staff were sceptical of, wield power unchecked, and make changes in any capacity he wishes.
Trump has obviously been doing this himself, and his cohort in government is also concentrating power as much as possible in the executive position that he holds. This circumvents due process and checks and balances, lets him use decrees at whim, and generally enforce what he wishes, i.e., deporting citizens, arresting judges, etc. This is not a trend we will see reverse, with many in government wanting this, and the opposition generally weakened by this concentration of power. Trump and Yeltsin have a lot in common here.
3. Attacks on Political Enemies
Arresting judges, deportations of protestors, disappearances, and terrified journalists. I could be describing Putin or Trump right now. I don’t think it’s going to get any better, either. While some may not bat an eye or believe things like “this guy was a criminal” or “he supports Palestine!” (even though I’m sure that’s a First Amendment right, but okay….), it won’t get any better. It will reach a point where the government can get rid of any troublemakers. With systems like Palantir, monitoring anyone, and the social media companies close to the Trump government, we have everything set up for a deeply authoritarian regime that can get rid of anyone who opposes it, just as Putin does, and how the USSR operated.
4. Media Influence
In Russia, opposition media only exists online. It’s nigh-on impossible to hear anything too critical of Putin. Yes, every now and again, you will get some “criticism” air on Russia 1, but this is all pre-approved, and within the realms of acceptable disagreement for Putin. The actual opposition media is mostly consumed outside of Russia, and tends to appeal to liberal, educated people, not the average person. This means that for many Russians, they are not exposed to other ideas.
Trump has Fox News with him; he only approves certain journalists into the White House, and, similarly, the media opposed to him appeals to a certain section of society. While Trump has obviously not banned any television channels yet, seeing how Bezos owns news outlets, as do other pro-Trump oligarchs, we really do not have to stretch far to see how it is getting worse. There will be acceptable opposition, but the really radical voices are silenced, and found online, but only among the liberals. The average working-class American probably won’t get exposed to these ideas. That is dangerous.
5. Passive and Fearful Opposition
Speaking of opposition, let’s be honest, what are the Democrats doing in the USA? Some cosy up to the regime, voting with them to strip basic rights and freedoms away in the name of “bipartisanship”. Others are relegated to the sidelines by the media to limit their impact.
People are afraid to protest to avoid being sent, illegally, to El Salvador. Or they’re so financially precarious that they cannot go out and protest. Meaning, the protests tend to be dominated by those already in a financial position to do so, in an older age bracket. This harms the appeal. The democrats are unable to learn, tackle the cause of the problem, and take the fight to Trump, and others are downright collaborating.
In Russia, the opposition is either pro-Putin, just to give an illusion of democracy, radicals on the fringe without any political power, or in the case of Navanlyists, perceived as just as corrupt and bad as the regime, but also who get arrested and murdered. The lack of appeal outside of metropolitans is a reminiscent problem, and while we’re not seeing democrats get gulaged, there is a similarity in the lack of a real, mobilised, opposition, and a fear among the population. I’d say the American opposition is even more passive than the Russian ones, as they paid the price.
6. Uncertain Future
Last, and not least, we have the issue of what is next. Who knows what is next for Russia? Or the USA? While Putin wields a lot of power, some major reform needs to be done to make Russia not a threat to the world, or itself. It is unclear who wants or could do such an initiative. We see the same in the USA, the Democrats are confused as to what they want to do, protests are hidden away, and we don’t know what power Trump will give himself and his oligarchs next.
Everything here obviously relates to the issue of backsliding. America is backsliding on its democracy. This isn’t hyperbole.
The reason I want to spell this out is because I think a lot of people think “it cannot happen here,” and, well, it can happen anywhere, especially when you have massive power concentrated in an elite. They consolidate their power and make everything worse for everyone else. America is going down a path that Russia is ahead of it on, and it might even catch up sooner than many of you would like to think.
I think there’s a lot more, the othering, the anti LGBT rights, the scapegoating. Maybe in another article.
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