Tuesday open thread: The wraithing of Dmitry Medvedev

When the Russian Constitution precluded Vladimir Putin from running for another term in 2008, he orchestrated a Potemkin village where his prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, would ascend the presidency until such a time as Mr. Putin could reclaim the throne.

But the thing is that under Mr. Medvedev, Russia began to make openings to the West. His interactions with Presiden Barack Obama were nothing but cordial and positive. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's famous "reset with Russia" was not some deluded fantasy, but a real possibility. It was during Mr. Medvedev's tenure that the US and Russia secured more arms control treaties.

I mention this because now this same Dmitry Medvedev is saying this:

MOSCOW, July 30 (Reuters) - Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who has sometimes raised the spectre of a nuclear conflict over Ukraine, said on Sunday that Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Kyiv's ongoing counter-offensive was a success.

Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, a body chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said in a message on his official social media accounts that Russia would be forced to fall back on its own nuclear doctrine in such a scenario.


"Imagine if the.. offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia.

"There would simply be no other option. So our enemies should pray for our warriors' (success). They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited," he said.

Mr. Medvedev has gone from the most Western-facing leader in Russian history to a pantomime villain, threatening nuclear fire if Ukraine is successful in defending itself from his country's unprovoked invasion.

I'm fascinated by turns like these. In the US, the most obvious example is Senator Lindsey Graham. Mr. Graham went from a critic of Donald Trump to his most abject bootlicker. It has been both painful and hilarious to watch. Mr. Medvedev has followed the same trajectory. He is nothing but Putin's lackey, his lapdog, his good boy. He is the one to whom the Western media turns for some deranged soundbite, usually involving threats of blood, devastation, death, war and horror to be visited upon the West if the West doesn't accede to Russia's geopolitical stance. The Medvedev of today bears no resemblance to the Medvedev who had a productive and mutually beneficial relationship with Pres. Obama.

As someone who values his honor highly, I find it difficult to understand people like Messrs. Medvedev and Graham. Putin is easy; he's a psychopathic megalomaniac. But Walter Mitty-like figures like Mr. Medvedev and Sen. Graham are a puzzle. They have no personalities unless they attach themselves to stronger figures. As Gertrude Stein famously said of Oakland, "there's no there there." (She was wrong. Oakland is a lovely city. But the point remains.)

The thing is that Russia's bluster no longer bears any fruit. The likes of Putin and Mr. Medvedev have so often pulled out the threat of nuclear escalation that it no longer has a deterrent motive. For two years they have been rattling the nuclear saber without putting it to use. Last year they threatened that an attack on the Kerch Bridge linking Crimea to Russia would be a nuclear casus bello. The bridge was attacked and severely damaged, and... nothing happened. Russia has waved its nuclear penis frequently, with no consumation. Decision-makers in the West no longer take these pronouncements seriously. 

As I said, it's fascinating to me when weak men get wraithed by dark lords. These lords—Trump, Putin—are nothing special. But they speak to a certain personality, one devoid of any self-actualization. And thus we have Sen. Graham debasing himself on a daily basis, and Mr. Medvedev writing checks his mouth can't cash. In any future trial, Mr. Medvedev will come off as a pathetic figure, a vile propagandist in above his head. It didn't have to be like that. But when you're a Grima Wormtongue, that is your fate.

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