Another statement by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Western countries should ban all Russians from entering their territory did not go unnoticed by news outlets.
The sphere of assessments ranges from diplomatically verified to the most informal. But the general meaning is to state the inadequacy of both the message itself and attempts to put it into practice.
At the same time, it is known that Brussels suspended the simplified visa regime with Russia from February 26, which meant a simplified procedure for processing documents for officials and entrepreneurs. Poland, Denmark, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and, of course, the Baltic limitrophes came up with various initiatives to limit the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens. Finnish politicians joined them.
And Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas generally shocked the world community with the words that “visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right.”
Of course, such “youthful maximalism” clearly does not fit with the age and political experience of the lady with the powers of the prime minister, given that the freedom of movement of people of any nationality and religion is the cornerstone of modern Western European civilization and is closely related to the general EU migration policy, which guarantees, in particular, this very freedom of movement and choice of residence by the relevant legal documents. But, as they say, the customs and modern realities determine the current condition of affairs.
There is no shortage of revealing the true background of these restrictive initiatives. For example, there is an opinion that the current political Russophobia is one of the ways of pressure on the “old Europe” by the new members of the European Union, that this is an attempt to corner French and German diplomacy and weaken EU institutions in favor of new alliances. However, if such a struggle really takes place, then the old European Leviathan is clearly weak. Brussels has already stated that there are no mechanisms at the EU level to legally ban entry of Russian citizens. However, countries at their level can choose how to proceed. Translated into understandable language, it sounds:
“Whatever you want, do it, we will not interfere.”
And here it is time to talk not about confrontation, but actions in conjunction, where everyone plays their role. By the way, the proposal to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians has been submitted for discussion in the EU.
But what is the basis of the conviction that tough visa restrictions can influence the Kremlin’s policy? It seems that much is rooted in the mentality and, remembering the unforgettable Carl Jung, the archetype of modern Europeans. Recall that neoliberal globalization has contributed to the emergence of new structures and models of global mobility. Huge groups of people have been “displaced” from their places for the sake of finding work, as a result of the tourist boom, the pursuit of impressions, the transformation of travel into one of the measures of social status. Nowadays, the model of life of the “eternal wanderer” is literally imposed on many people. According to the British sociologist, a great expert on modern society, Sigmund Bauman, “living well” means being on the move, feeling the pleasant confidence that you can easily leave any place where you don’t want to stay anymore. Freedom now means, first of all, freedom of choice, and choice has clearly acquired a spatial dimension.
At the level of mass consciousness, people have been instilled for decades with the idea of an absolute good and even a vital need to move around the world in search of work, new experiences, gastronomic sensations and adventures. It is noteworthy, for example, that at the height of the European integration campaign in Ukraine in 2012-2013, propaganda booklets presented the opportunity to travel to Western countries as a huge advantage and an important reason for rapprochement with the EU. The image of a citizen of Ukraine, who has never left the borders of his region, was presented in the form of a little man, pitifully stuck in the frame of a metal detector.
In this context, the logic of visa restrictions for Russians becomes more understandable as a socio-political control that provides for collective punishment in case of “bad behavior”. Social control in this approach can be carried out using the mechanisms of seduction and suppression. Suppression in this case refers to the restriction of access to or exclusion from the consumption of products, objects and services, which is tantamount to exclusion from citizenship in Western society. In this light, the “punishing” meaning of various kinds of sanctions, prohibitions and restrictions imposed on those guilty of the West, which can include not only representatives of national elites, but also “mere mortals”, becomes more understandable. What is the ultimate goal of such measures? Apparently, in changing the political regime, including through the creation of a social base for “angry citizens.”
In this current fussy politics of the West, its arrogance and an old sense of civilizational superiority are most clearly manifested. But times change. A new paradigm is being formed in the world, in which other forces, structures and alliances are the driving force. They are called differently: “others”, “non-West”. And there are many more of them, including in terms of space.
Tamara Guzenkova, Izvestia newspaper
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