Putin and ploughshares
Putin and ploughshares

It is now 27 years since the Lubavitcher Rebbe announced the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares” and the world has certainly changed a lot—for the better. Admittedly, however, there are smart, well meaning people who speak of gloom and doom.

No less a personality than Mikhail Gorbachev (yes, he’s still around) wrote an article in Time magazine two years ago explaining that recent events indicated that “the world is preparing for war.” But in our Swords Into Plowshares article that year we explained that the correct point of view was that of a U.S. Department of Defense scientist who said, “If there is a war it will probably just be a game of chess.” (see “Preparing for War or Playing Chess,” /Articles/Article.aspx/20338)

A U.S. scholar who is an expert on Russia, whom we will quote frequently in this article, Professor Stephen Cohen, also takes a gloomy point of view. (He also happens to be a long time, close personal friend of Mikhail Gorbachev.) In his new book War with Russia? (Skyhorse Publishing, Sept. 2018), he claims that there is a new cold war with Russia—more dangerous than the first one! But he is also wrong as we will show using some of his own arguments.

So, it seems to be all about Russia, and Russia is all about Vladimir Putin so let’s ask the fundamental question: Who is Vladimir Putin and what does he want?

But first, a little story. There was once a religious Jewish community where, of course, everyone would read the Jewish newspapers and magazines. Everyone, that is, except for one member of the community who would only read the antisemitic periodicals. Finally, one day they challenged him on this and asked him, “Look, you are a religious Jew and all of us, except for you, are reading the Jewish newspapers; you read the antisemitic newspapers! How could this be?” He replied, “I’ll explain it to you. When I read the Jewish newspapers, I read about all the problems in our Jewish communities—politics, family problems, problems with the youth etc.—as well as all the problems in Israel. I get very depressed.

“But when I read the antisemitic newspapers, I read that the Jews have all the money, the Jews are controlling our government and the Jews are running the world—and it makes me very happy!”


A New Paradigm

One’s worldview is based on his information and his information depends on where he goes to get it. It is no secret that in the mainstream media there is very little objective reporting anymore. Most news is agenda driven. Hence—Fake News. But even in scholarly papers and articles, a scientific paper will probably not be published if it does not fit the current scientific paradigms. For example, back in the 1980s, when String Theory was first proposed as a unifying theory in physics, it was hard to get a paper on it published. A couple of decades later, when the theory was hot, a paper on String Theory would be grabbed up.

Our information comes from nonpolitical sources such as the Human Security Reports, and our paradigm is the Sicha of Parshas Mishpatim, 5752, where the Rebbe presents his Swords Into Plowshares paradigm very clearly and in great detail.

During the Persian Gulf War of 1991 the Rebbe said repeatedly that Eretz Yisroel was the safest place in the world while reports coming from Israel indicated a strong possibility of Iraq attacking Israel with chemical weapons. Someone going for “dollars” one Sunday said to the Rebbe MHM that they were planning to go to Israel but they were afraid to go because on the radio they kept warning about chemical weapons. The Rebbe MHM replied that they should listen to Hashem’s predictions and stop listening to the radio’s predictions.

In fact (as reported by a former IDF intelligence officer at our Moshiach & Science conference in Yerushalayim last year), Sadam Hussein had given orders to his generals that if the U.S. attacked Iraq, they should retaliate by attacking Israel with chemical weapons. The United States did attack, of course, but the generals did not carry out the order. They simply didn’t do it. It was a miracle, literally.

So, the radio’s predictions were false but they were not Fake News. In this case they were just presenting their best information. They had no way of knowing that Hashem was going to perform a miracle. 

The same applies to our present situation. The news reporting may try to be as honest—fair and balanced—as they can but they are still finite human beings. They have no way of knowing The Truth; only a prophet, a tzadik—can know this. And he said that this is the Era of Swords Into Plowshares, with all that goes with it.

Making Russia Great Again

Our job is to monitor the worldwide Swords Into Plowshares process as we have been doing for over two decades since the Rebbe MHM announced its commencement. We expect to see ever decreasing militarization and peaceful relations among the nations of the world. This brings us back to Russia—and to Vladimir Putin.

In our 5777 article, we presented a quantitative measure with which to determine if a nation is becoming demilitarized: The percent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) that is spent on weapons. In simpler words: What percent of their total economy is being used to produce weapons? We presented a graph depicting the trend in this percent value for five nations: The U.S., England, France, China and Russia. Why these five? Because the Swords Into Plowshares declaration at the U.N. was made by the 15 members of the Security Council. The nations that we chose as indicators are the 5 permanent members on the Security Council. The other 10 positions rotate among various countries.

All the nations have an overall downward trend in their militarization since 1992 when the SIP declaration was made—all except Russia. So, this brings us back to our original question: What is Russia—Putin—up to?

Who is Vladimir Putin? It makes a difference. If “Putin is an evil man, and he is intent on evil deeds” as the late Senator Jon McCain has said, then Russia’s increased militarization can be seen as an attempt to step back from their commitment to the Swords Into Plowshares agenda. But if all he is trying to do is Make Russia Great Again then he’s not doing anything nefarious.

John McCain was not the only Putin basher. Hillary Clinton (who may or may not have any expertise on spiritual matters) pointed out that Putin “was a KGB agent. By definition, he doesn’t have a soul.” And here’s John McCain again: “Putin [is] an unreconstructed Russian imperialist and K.G.B. apparatchik…. His world is a brutish, cynical place…. We must prevent the darkness of Mr. Putin’s world from befalling more of humanity.” And in the mainstream media Putin is continuously demonized and blamed for, among other things, Hillary’s loss of the presidential election to Donald Trump. .

Swords Into Plowshares Continues

Before mentioning Professor Cohen’s views, I’d like to add a personal note. While writing this article I began to wonder what other people think—you know, the “man on the street.” So I put the question to a WhatsApp group that I’m in: “Who is Vladimir Putin and what does he want?” The answers I got were wide ranging. I also spoke to a colleague of mine, a mathematics professor originally from Kharkov, Ukraine who gave a rather long answer but his main points were:

Putin saved Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union and he deserves a lot of credit for that.

He wants Russia to be respected. [Make Russia Great Again]

He is strong but not dictatorial

Even in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine my colleague from Kharkov did not fault Putin. He noted that in any conflict “Western media always sides with the weaker party.”

Now, Professor Cohen has written a whole book on this topic, But we will start off here mentioning 3 major points that Cohen makes at the beginning of his book:

  • Putin wanted a friendly relationship with the West but the U.S. and Western Europe treated Russia like a defeated nation, now a second-rate power. His military adventurism in Europe was a reaction to this.
  • “Putin is not the absolute dictator some have pictured him [as]. His power seems to be based on balancing various patronage networks, some of which are still criminal…Therefore he cannot admit publicly that criminal acts happened without his approval since this would indicate that he is not completely in charge.”
  • “Not a trace of anti-Semitism is evident in Putin.”

For me personally, this last point has been the strongest indicator that Putin is OK. Throughout the history of Europe and the Middle East, almost every absolute ruler with an evil agenda was an anti-Semite. Putin is not an anti-Semite. He has a soul…and the Swords Into Plowshares program continues.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia had a hard time restructuring—and redefining—itself. It had lost its identity and had to “find itself.” The 1990s was a decade of chaos and confusion. Without the strict control of a communist regime, a handful of oligarchs rapidly accumulated vast wealth and political influence during the new era of privatization, while much of the population lived in poverty. Corruption was rampant. It was the “wild west” of the new Russian society. The administration of President Boris Yeltsin was plagued by corruption while Russia struggled to define its own brand of democracy.

All this affected—and hindered—its Swords into Plowshares (SIP) transformation. While the government as a whole was committed to it, there were officials and bureaucrats who longed for the more controlled Soviet system and resisted change—what we would now call in America the “deep state.”

A case in point: In January, 1990, General Mikhail Moiseyev, then chief of the Russian general staff, announced at a Military Doctrine Seminar in Vienna a set of guidelines for a new Russian military doctrine:

  • War will no longer be considered a means of achieving political objectives.
  • Russia will never initiate military actions against any other state.
  • Russia will never be the first to use nuclear weapons.
  • Russia has no territorial claims against any other state nor does it consider any other state to be its enemy.
  • Russia seeks to preserve military parity as a decisive factor in averting war, but at much lower levels than at present.

Also, war prevention—instead of war preparation—emerged as the predominant political objective of the new doctrine.

A beautiful example of what the Rebbe described in the Swords into Plowshares Sicha. But, for Russia, this doctrine was not so easy to implement.

Contrast this to the other communist world power—China. The Chinese communist government never fell apart and persists to this very day, even while free market practices are in place and Swords into Plowshares policies have been implemented. The transition was not chaotic but slow and deliberate—Chinese style.

Russia asked the United States for help in making its own transition and the U.S. has helped generously funding major programs and setting up the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) in Moscow to employ former Soviet weapons scientists, as we described in earlier articles. (See pages 199-213 in my book Scientific Thought in Messianic Times.)

Eventually, Yeltsin, who had become dysfunctional, had to resign to avoid prosecution on corruption charges. It was agreed that Vladimir Putin would take over.

Putin and the Jews

Putin is not an anti-Semite. Far from it, he is a good friend of the Jews—and of Israel. We have written previously of the war in Syria where Russia is allied with Iran against the revolutionary forces but at the same time gives Israel a free hand to destroy Iran’s arms shipments to Hezbolla in Lebanon that go through Syria and to bomb Iran’s military bases in Syria. The Russian military coordinates with the Israeli Air Force on this to make sure that Russian and Israeli planes don’t run into each other. Netanyahu has met with Putin many times about this. Here’s what Netanyahu said before leaving for one such meeting in January 2018:

"I am now leaving for Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. We meet periodically in order to ensure the military coordination between the IDF and the Russian forces in Syria. As of today this has succeeded and it is important that it continue to succeed.

"I will discuss with President Putin Iran's relentless efforts to establish a military presence in Syria, which we oppose and are also taking action against. We will also discuss Iran's effort to turn Lebanon into one giant missile site, a site for precision missiles against the State of Israel, which we will not tolerate."

As we write this article, Netanyahu has once again traveled to Moscow to discuss the matter with Putin.

Let’s take a look at Putin relationship with the Jews in Russia itself. In March, 2018, after Putin’s reelection, Rabbi Shea Deitsch, a Chabad shaliach who works with the Russian Chief

Rabbi Berel Lazar—also a Chabad shaliach—told Arutz 7 that Putin is responsible for the fact that anti-Semitism is almost nonexistent in Russia. He said:

"I told my children that in these elections, we fulfill the mitzvah of showing gratitude. That was my feeling, my wife's feeling, and my children's feeling. Putin did great...things for Judaism and Chabad. Here in Moscow, there are things which were absent for hundreds of years. Jews wear a talit and kippa openly. This Shabbat I had Israeli guests wearing a shtreimel in the street. Jews in Russia receive a lot of respect, and it starts from the top, from Putin, and ends with the media, government offices and banks.

"Every year before Pesach we receive a holiday letter from President Putin. Last Hanukkah, we held a candle-lighting ceremony in the Red Square. So Jews here are very happy with Putin."

And one more example. Last January, while Netanyahu was in Moscow meeting with Putin about Iran and Syria, there was an event commemorating International Holocaust Memorial Day. As reported on Collive.com:

President of Russia, Mr. Vladimir Putin spent more than four hours at the Jewish Tolerance Museum in the Marina Roscha neighborhood of Moscow, commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Although the original date was last Shabbos, he postponed it in order not to cause desecration of Shabbos.

While at the museum together with its founder, Chief Rabbi of Russia Rabbi Berel Lazar, the president of Russia was shown the site where a special monument will be built in memory of the Ghetto rebels (may G-d avenge their blood). Its cornerstone was brought from the village of Lubavitch, from the death valley where more than one thousand Jews were murdered by the Nazis during second World War…

Later he participated in the official ceremony marking Holocaust Remembrance Day, with the participation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, dozens of ambassadors from all over the world, war veterans, and Holocaust survivors…Prior to the ceremony, the two had a private meeting in one of the museum’s rooms which was allotted to them for this.

Putin is the president of Russia. If nothing else, he is a very busy man. Government officials everywhere who participate in commemorative events typically just make an appearance and say a few words of greetings, mentioning the significance of the event. Their participation may last only several minutes. Can you imagine a president of a major world power spending four hours at such an event? Not unless it really meant something to him. Putin must be a real friend of the Jews.

Mina Yuditskaya Berliner was a Jewish high school teacher of Putin whom he liked very much. In 1973 she emigrated to Israel but kept following Putin’s career in the news. When Putin visited Israel in 2005, she received permission from the Russian embassy to attend a reception in his honor. There she met Putin once again and Putin invited her to have tea with him in private. At this meeting Putin asked her if she needed anything. She told him she needed an apartment in a better location. Shortly after that, an employee of the Russian government showed up at her doorstep and took her to see some apartments in the center of Tel Aviv. One of them was bought for her. When she died in 2017, she left the apartment to Putin—who now owns an apartment in downtown Tel Aviv.

Cancelling the INF Treaty

In balance, there are some Russian activities that must be critically examined. In 2008 Russia fought a war with Georgia, a neighboring country of the former Soviet Union. This has been the only war fought by one of the five permanent nations on the UN Security Council (see Part 1 of this article) since the Swords into Plowshares (SIP) declaration. But, as Professor Cohen points out, Georgia actually started the war. We should also point out thet the war fit the pattern of decline in warfare described by the Human Security reports: 1) Short duration—it lasted only 5 days and 2) Fewer casualties—“only” about 800 people died in the war which is relatively low for a war with a major world power.

On February 1, President Trump withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia because Russia had violated the treaty by making more of these nuclear missiles than were allowed. (The purpose of the treaty was to protect Europe which could be the target of such intermediate and short range missiles.) The Hebrew date was 26 Shevat—the exact date of the SIP declaration 27 years ago, and it was the Friday before Parshas Mishpatim just like the SIP declaration 27 years ago—points emphasized by the Rebbe MHM in the SIP Sicha.

So, I have been asked several times in the past few weeks: “How is it that exactly 27 years to the day, after the SIP declaration that they are cancelling it?” But the question is not a valid question because that’s not what happened. The INF Treaty has nothing to do with the SIP declaration. The SIP declaration of 1992 was a general commitment to “end the state of warfare between the nations of the world,” reduce armaments and start working together peacefully for the good of all mankind. The INF Treaty of 1987, signed by U.S. President Reagan and Russian President Gorbachev was a specific agreement regarding a certain type of weapon. Withdrawing from the treaty does not mean cancelling the SIP commitment—but it may be a step backward. Is it? That’s the question.

It is not necessarily a step backwards. Firstly, by the terms of the treaty, there is a window of 180 days during which they can fix things up. As they say, “It’s not over till it’s over.” Seconly, Trump, who is a master at making deals, has been known to cancel a faulty agreement and replace it right afterward with a better agreement. This was the case with the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). In our case—the INF Treaty—Trump has already said in his State of the Union speech, “Perhaps we can negotiate a different agreement, adding China and others…”

Speaking of China, that old aggressive, belligerent and militant enemy of ours—and sometimes of Russia too—they had something to say about the situation. They said that the U.S. and Russia should stop going at each other and just sit down and work out their differences. Huh? Is this the same China? Or is this “ending the state of warfare between the nations of the world” i.e. SIP?

Cold War or Hot Peace?

Regarding the annexation of Crimea, first of all it was not a war. Secondly, the people of Crimea voted to go with Russia. This is not a surprise since 1) the people of Crimea (and eastern Ukraine in general) have strong ties with Russia, 2) Russia is a much more stable country and 3) Jews in particular feel much better about Russia where anti-Semitism is very low as opposed to Ukraine where the nationalist party is openly anti-Semitic.

We will not get into a discussion of alleged election interference since that is not a Swords into Plowshares issue. Suffice it to say that all countries do this. The most blatant example in recent times was Obama sending operatives into Israel during its last election to actively work against Netanyahu.

But not everything distasteful that Russia does can be blamed on Putin. As Professor Cohen points out, there is a “deep state” in Russia just like in the U.S.—bureaucrats left over from the Soviet era who have their own agendas over whom Putin does not have complete control.

But we do not agree with Professor Cohen that we are involved in a new cold war with Russia. Rather as Michael McFaul, former U.S. ambassador to Russia points out, it’s more of a “hot peace”—the key word being “peace” (see his book From Cold War to Hot Peace).

My own view is that now nations can’t seem to get a war going even when they’d like to, partly for economic reasons: There’s too much at risk. The nations are so interconnected economically that it would be a shame to lose it all just to start a war (see my article “Preparing for War or Playing Chess,” Parshas Mishpatim, 5777). But mainly, I think, it’s because it’s too late to solve your problems with warfare—that era is over: “War will no longer be considered a means of achieving political objectives.”

…It’s the Era of Moshiach.

לזכות א"מ רחל בת שרה לאה תי' לרפואה שלימה ולבריאות טובה ונכונה לחיים נצחיים ללא הפסק בינתיים