story in wall street journal It shows the trade-offs and incentives of a dictator. It shows how it’s not easy to be a dictator, how his country can’t become innovative and wealthy, and how it’s not fun to live there even for people who happily serve the regime. (written by Anne M. Simmons)Spy mania instills fear in Russian scientistsOctober 2).
This illustration focuses on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Dictators need powerful armies, and if they plan to invade foreign countries, they need fortresses. A powerful military has always required cutting-edge technology, and now that technology is based on advanced science. Remember the chilling video from 2018 in which Putin showed off a new hypersonic missile with an animation of it circling the globe and delivering nuclear bombs to places like Florida. Hypersonic missiles that fly at more than five times the speed of sound – something Putin has said 20 times – would be even more surprising if you didn’t know that the cost of lying for a dictator is low. Since then, hypersonic missiles have been used in Ukraine. It appears that it has not yet been provided to the U.S. military. Its development requires advanced physics in the fields of high-speed aerodynamics and hypersonics. In the early years of Putin’s administration, his government funded research in this field and encouraged scientists to participate in relevant scientific conferences in the Western world.
The dictatorship is now claiming that its scientific progress may have been partially leaked during these international conferences, but this fear is likely part of two signals the dictatorship wants to send. First, the Russian government has new information about its actual and potential foreign enemies. A missile more effective than any other in the world. Second, tell scientists and stakeholders that any leaks will be severely punished.
Since personal profits are cheap and the rule of law is non-existent, an easy way for dictators to achieve these goals is to charge treason against the very scientists and academics who follow the tyrant’s orders. Since 2018, and especially since the invasion of Ukraine, many scientists who were involved in hypersonic research, even at a theoretical level, have been arrested. 2 attached photos WSJ In the story, two of the elderly people are shown detained. Anatoly Maslov, a 78-year-old physicist recently sentenced to 14 years in prison, watches in incomprehension and horror as Russian SS officers manipulate his handcuffs. . Physicist Viktor Kudryavstev appeared depressed inside a bar during a 2019 “courtroom” hearing. Other documented incidents are cited in ‘The Court’. WSJ. The trial for treason is held in secret, and the outcome is not pleasant.
of wall street journal They also report other reasons why dictators can arrest innocent individuals.
Some observers believe that Russian security services are making these arrests because they believe that “Russia has really advanced scientific achievements and that spies around the world are trying to steal them.” Mr. Smirnov (Russian lawyer) said that he may be trying to convince himself and convince President Putin.
Within the deep state ( genuine deep state) dictatorship, information is unreliable and misinformation is an important part of the game.
Note another result of these persecutions. Russian scientists currently have strong incentives to fear and avoid meaningful research in areas that are somehow related to military issues. New scientific and technological developments are unlikely to help Putin or his successors strengthen their military and attack foreign countries, which of course would be a good thing. But future Russian dictators, like Stalin and Kim Yong-un, may continue to reign over a poor and depressed population.
*******************************************
Vision of Stalin-Putin syndrome: against the people who served you
