Many eyes will shift to Germany this Friday given the announcement that President Trump will use the occasion of the G20 meeting in Hamburg to have his first sit-down with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
It is, of course, perfectly appropriate for the presidents of two major geopolitical players to discuss issues of serious concern to the entire world. In the case of what should—emphasis on “should”—be on the table in Hamburg, a robust agenda would range from seeking a political outcome to end the grinding war in Syria, to cooperation on North Korea, to—one can hope—the consequences of Russia’s attempt to undermine the U.S. electoral system, barbarous attacks on gay and bisexual men in the country’s semi-autonomous region of Chechnya and other serious violations of the human rights, and the Kremlin’s slow-burn occupation of its western neighbor Ukraine.
Given what we know of our president, however, conversation on any of these issues that advances U.S. interests may be a bridge too far. Trump, as is his wont, seems hardly concerned by the gravity of this initial meeting with his Russian counterpart. He may very well intend to turn an encounter with the man his own intelligence community has confirmed interfered with the 2016 election into a friendly discussion between faux friends. Trump’s national security advisor, LTG H.R. McMaster, spoke recently with a refreshing, if also disturbing, level of candor about the pending meeting, saying only “We have no specific agenda…It’s whatever the president wants to talk about.” The extent to which Trump turns the gathering into a photo op, or, worse—as in the case of his Oval Office meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov—a debacle, very much remains anyone’s guess.
While journalists and analysts continue to hypothesize about why exactly Trump is so intent on not only maintaining good relations with Putin, but also bending U.S. law to his benefit, there will be another specter haunting the room when these two figures meet: government by high-level corruption.
Intrepid researchers have meticulously documented the network of corrupt schemes that enrich Putin and his circle within Russia. However, it wasn’t until recently that the international community woke with a start to the realization that Putin’s corrupt networks have tentacles extending not only throughout countries within the former Soviet Union, but also throughout Europe and into the United States.
Part of this realization relates to the fact that corruption is not only a way of life for the government in Moscow, but is also an integral part of its foreign policy. As one element of a broader campaign to erode the universality of human rights, including the rights of citizens everywhere to choose their leaders freely and live in societies bound by the rule of law, Putin’s Kremlin has embarked on a concerted effort to label these values as “western” or “American.” In so doing, it has shrewdly, and in many cases successfully, sought to use corruption as a method of attacking the human rights-based norms and institutions that have served as the bedrock of peace and prosperity in Europe since World War II.
The human rights link to corruption has not often been made clear, but the connection is undeniable. Russia is a perfect example. High-level corruption in Russia is so rampant that analysts coined a new term with it in mind: a “kleptocracy,” or “rule by thieves.” Kleptocracy is a situation in which a ruler has power solely by virtue of the high-level corruption that permeates and reinforces activities between the state and the business community. In Russia, Putin, his cronies, and their families control virtually all
lucrative business operations, from gas companies to state banks to major media outlets. And it is in large part this group’s need to hold onto their power and continue to reap the financial benefits of their corrupt schemes that has made the Russian state a major human rights violator.
Reporters, human rights advocates, and political activists – including famed journalists Anna Politkovskaya and Paul Klebnikov, and opposition politician Boris Nemtsov – that have tried to call out the Kremlin for its corruption have all suffered the ultimate human rights violation, loss of life. A wide variety of other abuses are committed regularly in Russia to deter those that challenge the government’s hold on power. Activists such as Evgeny Vitishko and Denis Lutskevich have been arrested for challenging the Kremlin’s methods: Vitishko for protesting corruption related to environmental degradation in the run up to the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and Lutskevich for protesting Putin’s apparent rigged return to power in 2012. Anti-corruption activist (and Russian nationalist) Alexei Navalny has been arrested repeatedly for leading protests against corruption – the last on June 12 – and has also seen his brother Oleg imprisoned on what are deemed false charges of (you guessed it!) corruption.
President Trump would do well to give attention to Russian anti-corruption protestors and their claims. The acts that brought tens of thousands of mostly young Russians into the streets of over 200 cities [earlier this month / last month] are an increasingly important tool in Russia’s foreign policy repertoire. Russian government officials buy policies and political decision-makers in foreign countries, including (and especially) democratic ones. And the Russian government has made a point of partnering with foreign leaders to engage in corrupt schemes, thereby giving them power over these leaders to ensure loyalty. It then uses these corrupt partnerships as instruments of soft power, thereby exporting and normalizing the Kremlin’s methods of shadow governance.
Why is President Trump so seemingly intent on warming relations with the man who makes all this happen? With former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation looming in the background, this is a key question to be asked ahead of the Hamburg meeting. Trump has indicated that he wants to “normalize” relations with Putin. Even the wording of this pronouncement should be cause for concern, as there is nothing “normal” about Putin’s manner of engagement. Russia’s leader seeks the weakening of the international order largely established and underwritten by the United States, an order that has redounded to significant U.S. advantage for many years. The risk of Trump’s acquiescence is that he will allow the Russian government to redefine the rules of the game, particularly where good governance and the rule of law are concerned.
President Trump seems to think that cozying up to Putin will make him stronger. But doing so, particularly while at the same time attacking critical news outlets and other checks on power, plays directly into Putin’s hand. Make no mistake: Russian leaders are cultivating an alternative normative framework that equates winning an election with a license to abuse state power, attack critics, and line one’s own coffers. The Kremlin seeks to persuade foreign leaders that the rights of their citizens can be safely ignored without consequences for societal growth or national security. President Trump seems predisposed to buy this argument. He shouldn’t.