Time to bury Russia imperialism to history
James J. Y. Hsu (許正餘)

One of the major US foreign policies appears to be cozying up with Russia to isolate China, which is consistent with the US President Donald Trump’s calling Russian President Putin ‘genius’ and ‘savvy’ to invade Ukraine in 2022, calling Ukraine President Zelensky a dictator, and voting with autocratic governments in UN.

Trump may be a negotiation genius, but this policy matter, considered as the Nixon reverse, unfortunately will not work. In fact, former US President Richard Nixon by playing China card against Soviet Union, created a worse enemy as China has become the greatest threat to the world’s democracy and freedom.

China and Russia will continue to be intimate for so long as they both are authoritarian, as it is also evidenced by the Chinese POWs captured by Ukraine. Moreover, by letting loose Russia now, the threat to Europe will be only postponed, not eliminated, until Russia recovers from the Ukraine war. Next time, the war will be even harder to fight. This might be the most contentious point Zelensky is concerned about. Since even if a peace treaty is signed, security can still be unwarranted. In fact, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum failed to protect Ukraine even though Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons in exchange for exactly that.

Former Polish President Lech Wałęsa, who won Nobel peace prize for pro-democracy efforts, asserted that without American commitment it would have been impossible to break up the Soviet Union. He said that “President Reagan was aware that millions of enslaved people were suffering in Soviet Russia and the countries it conquered, including thousands of political prisoners who paid for their sacrifice in defense of democratic values with freedom.” He emphasized that Reagan had the vision and leadership to call USSR the “Evil Empire” without hesitation, and his greatness is admired everyday as his statue stands in Warsaw vis-a-vis of the US embassy.

Retired US general David Petraeus has commented that Russia’s military is on the verge of collapse. He points out, in August 2024 when Ukraine entered Kursk, thirty thousand Russian soldiers were taken from Ukraine area to defend its territory, as the internal force failed to do so. Moreover, it also relies on inexperienced and poorly trained conscripts to fight. The morale is low, and the war is now fought on Ukraine’s terms.

Europe has a military stronger in numbers than that of Russia, but short in unification and synchronization. Russia’s economy is quickly deteriorating and civil wars are around the corner. The tyrannical Putin cannot sustain a prolonged war. By adding the strength of US, there is no doubt, Russia could be dismantled in months.

Only by reforming Russia to be democratic can peace and security be guaranteed for Ukraine and Europe. Breaking up Russia into a few democratic countries will forever bury Russia imperialism to history. This will truly isolate China.

If Trump wants to be one of the greatest leaders in history book, this is the time for him to help defeat and break up Russia, just like last time when Soviet Union was broken up by Reagan.

James J. Y. Hsu is a retired professor of theoretical physics.