COMMENT There is a Russian proverb that goes like this: ‘With lies, you may go forward in the world, but you may never go back.’

This saying has always held a special appeal for me, mainly because it serves to illustrate the complexities of the Russian soul – it is defined, in equal terms, by melancholy, fatalism and a tragic sense of humour.

For the average Russian, being misunderstood by the outside world is all but inevitable. So they embrace it as their destiny, and with a nonchalant shrug, they march forward and pursue their goals anyway.

They see little point in stopping to offer detailed explanations. They know no one will listen.

Nowhere was this development more clear than in 1946. This was when American diplomat George Kennan sent his famous Long Telegram from the US embassy in Moscow. He had observed, up close, what he believed to be a policy of aggressive Soviet expansionism.

Russia had come to see itself at war with capitalism, and it was seeking to replace it with communism. This was why Russia had refused to support America in creating the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. A clash of cultures was under way.

In 1947, Kennan examined the issue more formally in what became known as X Article. In it, he defined Russia as impervious to the logic of reason but highly sensitive to the logic of force.

His recommendation to Washington was a strategy of containment in order to roll back Russian influence around the globe. The Truman administration, alarmed by Kennan’s views, began to adopt a militaristic stance towards Russia. This was a posture that would come to define the entirety of the Cold War.

Not aggressive

The Russians, for their part, did not see themselves as aggressive. Nor did they perceive their foreign policy as unreasonable. After all, in their opinion, it was not the American-led forces that had won the Second World War. Rather, it was Mother Russia.

In the battle against the Nazi juggernaut, the Russians had suffered more casualties than any other nation – over 20 million dead. The Americans, by comparison, had only suffered 400,000 deaths, which the Russians viewed as miniscule by comparison.

The Russians also believed that it wasn’t the dropping of the atomic bomb that had forced the Empire of Japan to surrender to the Allies. Rather, it was the actions of their Red Army, which had already swept through Manchuria and was poised to invade the Japanese homeland itself.

Anecdotal evidence appears to support this view. In 1918, the Russians had no qualms about executing their own royal family. In 1945, was it possible that they might do the same to the Japanese royals?

It was a frightening thought for the Imperial household, and it was for this reason that the Japanese chose to surrender to the Americans instead. American occupation, while humiliating, would at least ensure the survival of the Chrysanthemum Throne and a continuation of the royal lineage.

In Russia’s eyes, they believed they had more than earned the right to be given a leading role in the post-war world. That meant being treated as an equal to America and being accorded a certain degree of prestige and respect.

Unfortunately, that hope did not come to fruition. From the beginning, simplistic stereotypes and racial prejudice poisoned relations between the two superpowers.

In the eyes of many Western observers, Russia was and always would be a semi-Oriental nation of barbarians. Devious in character. Antagonistic in posture. Not to be trusted at all.

Now, with the fall of communism and the breakup of the old Soviet empire, many things have changed on the surface.

In 1989, there were no millionaires in Russia. Today, thanks to the liberalisation of oil and gas, there are not only millionaires but billionaires. Flush with cash and self-confidence, Russian oligarchs are on the ascendency.

They are now buying luxury mansions in far-off places like New Zealand. In a stunning role reversal, they have now become masters of the Western art of capitalism.

No forgiveness

However, for all the glitz and glamour of modern capitalistic Russia, one thing has not changed.

The Russians have never forgiven the West for not giving them ‘face’ when they craved it the most. In their heart of hearts, they rage against the perception that they have been bullied, belittled and sabotaged at every turn.

This is the resentment they bear to this day, and this is why they have turned to Putin.

Ultranationalism, for all its faults, has given them a sense of renewed pride. What we perceive as ruthless, they perceive as decisive. What we perceive as thuggish, they perceive as masculine.

Often, you don’t need to look far to witness this perspective in action. Just yesterday, on an online forum, I had a conversation with self-proclaimed Russian nationalist. He was angry at my suggestion that Putin had placed geopolitical interest ahead of human life.

He said, "Why are you Malaysians complaining about the loss of 298 lives? We lost 20 million in the Great Patriotic War. 20 million! Try wrapping your mind around that. And yet, after all that sacrifice, we barely shed a tear. The fact that you Malaysians are kicking up such a fuss over it just shows that you are weaklings and slaves to the West."

Blunt? Crass? Perhaps. But that sums up the Russian perspective today – a nostalgia for the dignity and respect that the old Soviet Empire once gave them. Yes, being misunderstood is inevitable.

But given the choice between being a bad guy and being a nobody, modern Russia will choose to be the bad guy. At the very least, it gives them ‘face’ and offers them a platform in today’s world.

Russia has sworn that it will not be treated as a child ever again. And if that means sacrificing 298 civilians in the name of a more muscular and assertive nation, then so be it.

JOHN LING is a Malaysian-born author based in New Zealand. You can find out more about him and his work at http://www.johnling.net .