It isn't that geography and geopolitics supersede everything else. (snip) Rather, it is that geography in particular is the starting point for understanding everything else.Kaplan believes geography has a central role in shaping Russia's undemocratic government:
Russia remains illiberal and autocratic because, unlike Britain and America, it is not an island nation, but a vast continent with few geographical features to protect it from invasion. Putin's aggression stems ultimately from this fundamental geographical insecurity.With good reason, Russians obsess about the invasions of Napoleon and Hitler. Kaplan summarizes the unhappy reality:
Geographical facts are often simple, brutal, obvious -- not interesting or inspiring or intellectually engaging in any sense -- but they are no less true as a consequence.We hardly teach geography anymore; otherwise bright students have no idea where places in the news are located, or why it might be important to know.
Play a thought experiment strategy game taking the role of the Russian General Staff. It is a real eye-opener. Get a large map of Russia, mentally place yourself in Moscow and look at the thousands of miles of border you have to defend. See the long border with China, the world's most populous militarily strong nation. Underpopulated but resource-rich Russian Siberia is next door to 1.2 billion industrious Chinese.
Russia's leaders are naturally paranoid control freaks ... it's the geography, stupid.
