We hear much about the Russian oligarchs, those favored wealthy who enjoy privileges and luxury and are looked upon as Putin’s cronies. Unless our news-gatherers are making unfounded assumptions as to the meaning of the term, there’s a lot more to it than mere association with the Russian leader. The term refers to the leaders of an oligarchy, which is a form of government by the few. My dictionary defines them as a few persons of the dominant class or clique who are the rulers in a society. Oligarchy was the common type of government for centuries in Europe and Asia, as well as most other areas of the globe at one time or another. Governments were usually small city-states governed by one man or family. If we are talking about Putin’s oligarchs in the true meaning of the term, then they are thoroughly involved in the running of their country and should be held responsible for the goings-on in Ukraine. Thus, it makes a lot more sense, knowing that the free world is making life less pleasant for them by confiscating their luxurious vacation homes, yachts, private jets and other goodies.
I find it interesting, in literature, that oligarchs have been compared to hyenas. The comparison fits nicely with what we are learning about these greedy and uncaring members of a self-appointed ruling class. Hyenas live and hunt in packs (the animal version of cliques and families.) Even though they cooperate in the hunt, the individuals are looking out for their own private interests and will fight and even kill their pack-mates in order to get as much of the spoils as possible for themselves. Weaker and less bold members of the pack are usually forced to wait until the others have fed before they are allowed a share of the catch, and are often driven from the pack or killed when the spoils are meager. Any interference from other animals is viciously dealt with, as are journalists, tourists and anyone who can be accused of ‘spying’ on activities and interests of oligarchs in the human world. The similarities to Putin’s pals are stunning.
I doubt very much if all the Russian soldiers are enthusiastic about the things they are ordered to do as they invade Ukraine, and I suspect that is a goodly part of the reason that the Ukrainian forces and civilians have been able to resist to the extent that they have. But there are always enough military leaders who are obsessed with their power and who are loyal to the rulers. These I think of as Myrmidons, those fanatically devoted followers of Achilles who would blindly follow him and carry out all his commands without question. If you remember your mythology, Achilles’ mother sought to protect him from danger by holding the infant by his heel and dipping him in a protective well, making him invulnerable to physical danger, except for that one small area of one foot. We can only hope that Putin also has an Achilles Heel, and that his Myrmidons are less devoted than those of mythology.
The frequently misused word ‘enormity’ is defined as a monstrous wickedness; such as a massacre, the Holocaust in Germany or the bombing of the Spanish town of Guernica. We Americans have committed our share of such sins, also, I’m sad to remind you, in the methodical elimination of the civilization of the Native Americans whose lands and freedom we took from them, and in the dropping of those horrific nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We sometimes try to justify our actions by pointing out that we ended a world war, and that Mother Nature visits some equally terrible things on perfectly innocent people, but both the words ‘monstrous’ and ‘wickedness’ imply the presence of malice and deliberate intent, and we can hardly attribute those characteristics to Nature. We try to rationalize our guilt away by insisting that we have learned the error of our ways and attempted to make up for what we did to our indigenous Americans, but we can never give back to them what we took away. Are we so arrogant that we believe our way is the best for everybody? We can only offer them acceptance as fellow Americans in this more modern world.
And, I am greatly humbled to think that the Japanese have, apparently, forgiven us.