War Heroes Instead of Diplomats: How the Kremlin Is Shaping a New Elite
July 1 became a symbolic date in both the Kremlin’s diplomatic and domestic calendar. After three years of silence, Vladimir Putin held a long-awaited two-hour phone conversation with French President Emmanuel Macron. The official reason was the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in June, but in Putin’s view, the central topic remained Ukraine — as it has been for years.
Even more revealing than the call itself was his next meeting — not with any European leader, but with Yevgeny Pervychev, governor of the Tambov region. This man has become a symbol of the new, militarized Russia. A former mayor and local MP, Pervychev volunteered to fight on the front lines and, in November 2024, was appointed regional governor as a reward for his service.
Putin sent a clear signal — to the world and to his own citizens — that figures like Pervychev, battle-hardened, decorated, and ideologically loyal, are now the Kremlin’s new aristocracy. While Western leaders continue to condemn the war and call for negotiations, the Kremlin elevates those who “fought for the Motherland” and presents them as role models.
Pervychev’s visit was widely covered on Russian television. The call with Macron, by contrast, went unnoticed. Le Monde writes: “The personal meeting with the governor, praised as an example, received far more attention than diplomacy with a ‘weak European.’”
The image of Macron — a courteous but powerless representative of old Europe — has become almost caricatural in Kremlin rhetoric. Against this backdrop, the meeting with Pervychev was not just a routine appointment, but a demonstration of a new order, where diplomacy is mere window dressing and true value lies in military loyalty.
“Where the Russian Soldier Sets Foot…”: Rhetoric That Erases Peace
At the St. Petersburg Economic Forum — nicknamed “Putin’s Davos” — the Russian president delivered two phrases that erased any illusions of a near-term end to the war:
“I consider Russians and Ukrainians to be one people. In this sense, all of Ukraine is ours,” Putin said on June 20.
He added: “Where the Russian soldier sets foot, that land is ours.”
As Le Monde notes, such statements effectively nullify any hope of negotiation. Despite six phone calls between Donald Trump and Putin in recent months, no progress has been made — apart from prisoner exchanges.
“The U.S. president wanted a quick ceasefire, but the Kremlin seeks not a truce, but Ukraine’s capitulation,” the paper emphasizes.
In short, neither the European nor the American diplomatic track leads to de-escalation. Moscow is not interested in freezing the conflict — it wants results, preferably military ones.
The War Economy: How the Kremlin Turns Poverty Into Strategic Capital
The Kremlin has learned to use war as a tool not only for political control but for social stabilization. The military-industrial complex has become the engine of domestic policy. The government is financing hundreds of thousands of men on the front and supporting their families in the poorest Russian regions.
For many, the war has become a form of social mobility. As Le Monde puts it: “The conflict has partially leveled the disparity between wealthy cities and the impoverished periphery.”
In this militarized context, the Russian economy is beginning to resemble a true wartime economy: factories receive state contracts, regions benefit from budget injections, and elites are showered with medals. All of this allows Putin to speak of “stability” — even amid clear structural strain:
- inflation remains above 10%,
- the budget struggles to cover bonuses for volunteers,
- and on June 19, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov admitted the country is “on the verge of recession.”
Nevertheless, the Kremlin insists otherwise. In response to NATO’s call for 5% of GDP to be spent on defense, Putin claimed there would be “no recession whatsoever” and mocked what he called the West’s “reckless militarization.”
Moreover, the suspension of U.S. air defense deliveries to Ukraine on July 2 — which left Ukrainian cities more vulnerable — is seen by the Kremlin not as a coincidence but as a predictable weakening of the adversary. Le Monde notes: “The Russian army could exploit this ‘window’ for a large-scale offensive — especially in summer, when Ukraine’s front lines are less mobile.”
In this light, the war gains not only political momentum, but tactical energy — thanks largely to the West’s delay.
History as a Weapon: Why the Kremlin Sends an Ideologue, Not a General
Even the rare negotiations with Ukraine are shaped by ideology. At two rounds of consultations in Istanbul — on May 16 and June 2 — the Russian delegation was led not by a general, but by historian Vladimir Medinsky, former culture minister and chief ideologue behind the Kremlin’s school textbooks.
While Ukraine was represented by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and military officers in uniform, Medinsky arrived flanked by civilians “confident in their mission.” The message was unambiguous: Russia is not just waging war — it is pursuing a historical mission.
“He who controls history controls the future,” Medinsky repeatedly says, citing George Orwell’s novel 1984.
He quotes: “He who controls the past controls the future; he who controls the present controls the past.”
As Le Monde points out, this is a deliberate and chilling distortion. It shows that for the Kremlin, the war is not just a geopolitical confrontation — it is a way of reshaping time itself.
War as a Way of Life
According to Le Monde, Russia is undergoing a process of war institutionalization. War is no longer an emergency — it is becoming the new normal. The regime draws from it not only economic benefits, but also legitimacy.
Putin’s choice is not between war and peace, but between two models of rule: the post-Soviet status quo and a militarized autocracy with ideological underpinnings.
In this system:
- soldiers become governors,
- ideologues lead negotiations,
- the budget is built on subsidies for the front,
- and diplomacy is expressed through open contempt for a “weak Europe.”
While the West debates new aid packages and sanctions, the Kremlin is constructing an alternative reality — one in which peace is impossible, and defeat is unacceptable. As Le Monde writes: “Russia is moving toward an equilibrium in which permanent conflict is not a catastrophe, but the operating logic of the regime.”
This article was prepared based on materials published by Le Monde. The author does not claim authorship of the original text but presents their interpretation of the content for informational purposes.
The original article can be found at the following link: Le Monde.
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