The Patrushev Oversight
In a recent interview with Russian media, Nikolay Patrushev, an intelligence officer who is the former director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) and the current secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, spoke about the nature of power in the West. In keeping with the previous address of President Putin at Valdai, Patrushev shared many of the criticisms made by disillusioned Western commentators.
While some observers may think aspects of Patrushev’s critique accurate, fewer seem to have noticed that many of his criticisms are equally applicable to the Russian state and its “partners.” It’s as if the practically identical power structures are considered, for some unfathomable reason, different in Russia.