I’ve been up to my ears with the Cold War for the past couple of weeks as I teach it to my kids, and I’ve been loving it. It’s by far one of the most dynamic and defining periods of modern history, and we are still living in its ripples a mere 24 years later. Because of such a recent history, I’ve been browsing the web for news articles for students to read for homework, which is why I say I’ve been up to my ears in the stuff. Tensions between Russia and the West has been all over the news (excluding the sensationalist sources, of course).

It has made some people wonder that instead of the Americans winning the Cold War, perhaps we’ve been living through a 24 year-long restroom break. Not literally, but the thought of a temporary lull is circulating cyberspace. Although, there is plenty to be said for a return to Cold War behaviors and antics, even going as far as dubbing the risk of a Cold War 2.0.

So how did we get here? As an American, following American news and gathering information from White House press releases, it is the Russians’ fault. Well, Putin’s fault at least. Hopefully we can register the problem with that statement, that is, if we don’t have your stars and stripes glasses on. That might sound harsh, but to really understand what we (the global community) have gotten ourselves into, we must understand our own biases and information filters through which any idea must seep. We need to step back for a moment, turn off the Western media sources, and think about the whole picture.

How could our current situation have been avoided? I believe the answer, if we choose to be enlightened, could affect how we make any decision ranging from interacting with a co-worker to passing legislation for human trafficking in the Senate.

I must preface though that much of the observations are not my own but from a discussion I had with a couple very familiar with Russian politics and were heavily involved with monitoring nuclear materials during the Cold War and through the 2000s. I could only wish I had been able to draw these conclusions on my own, but I am still grateful for perhaps one of the most intellectually stimulating conversations of my life. I still glow when I think about it months later. Anyways, here is some history, and then a return to current events:

The United States’ victory in the Cold War could be argued by some to have been a shallow and weak one, since the collapse of the Soviet Union came from within. So much for offensive diplomacy (though efforts to contain the USSR by the United States cannot be dismissed or overlooked). That just means that a moderate communist had taken the helms of the Party and sought to make the progress of the country to be more than superficial. It is interesting that we in the West call Gorbachev a hero. I remember taking a class in college about the International Relations in which the professor spoke rather highly of Gorbachev (He genuinely liked the man). Several Russian students launched into a verbal assault on the professor unlike which I have ever seen since. That doesn’t mean all Russians hate the man, but I doubt he would win an election anytime soon. After all, he allowed Soviet Union to dismantle itself.

So yes, the Soviet Union was no longer, the Iron Curtain had gone through the shredder, and Russia stood in a fossilized footprint of a superpower. You bet we Americans gloated. Yes, we swooped in to work alongside the Russian government to encourage trade and monitor the massive nuclear stockpile that had been developed and, in some cases, abandoned in newly formed Republics that no one wanted to become a nuclear power. But still, at home, we gloated. I remember ten years after the collapse of the Soviet Union learning how we “won” the Cold War in US History. I felt quite proud.

We went on through the ’90s riding the wave of peace and security that must have had some role in the economic windfall of that decade. Meanwhile, Russia floundered. US led the world in foreign affairs and coalitions. There were not a lot of naysayers who carried significant weight to challenge our interests, at least from our American point of view. On the international scene, it was as if the US had been made king while Russia was allowed to stay in the house out of benevolence.

What is there to expect when Russia regained some of its strength? In less than 20 years, the country’s GDP doubled, allowing a reinvestment in its military and industries. For nearly 50 years, Russia was a powerful influencer of global politics. No one would need to be a psychic in order to predict would would happen when the opportunity arose for Russia to retake the reigns in its region.

As a result, as NATO pushed eastward, Russia could now push back. Now we are at a point where Russia is able and willing to influence its neighbors rather overtly. Russia is now blazing its own path and withdrawing from arms agreements and cooperative arms monitoring. Russia is moving forward with new weapons, flexing its muscle on its borders, and militarizing the Arctic.

Could this have been avoided? I don’t know. But perhaps if Russia had been viewed as an international equal it would not be as tense today since It wouldn’t have felt it necessary to reassert itself as a superpower. Yes, part of Russia’s response can be attributed to a self-image problem, but it causes one to wonder how the “winner” treats the “loser” at the end of the game influences how the two parties will interact once the latter is back on his feet. After all, he’s not going to stay down forever.

Clearly we should have reassessed our foreign policy strategies after the Cold War to make sure that a former foe would be an ally once it had recovered. Instead, we still approach Russia with a heavy hand and with the similar Cold War mentality and perspectives. I’m not saying we should have been softer in our response to Russia’s recent actions, but I am saying it possibly could have been avoided.

So, what future conflicts can be avoided? Thinking of Congress and how parties change roles from majority to minority so easily, perhaps the old wisdom of treating the other as you would want to be treated could go a long way. Right now, the Democratic minority in the Senate is freezing multiple bills supposedly on principle, though it is pretty transparent that this is politics. So what can be expected if and when the Republicans return to the minority (It will happen at some point)? What is gained from milking your privilege for all it is worth at the cost of others? Well, what is gained other than revenge and an inflated ego?