Russia's Muscle-flexing is Dangerous Posturing

The diplomatic atmosphere between Britain and Russia has been getting sharply chillier since Moscow refused to extradite the man Scotland Yard accuses of the murder of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko. There were tit-for-tat embassy expulsions. Now the BBC World Service has had its license to broadcast in Moscow revoked.

But this is a sideshow in a broader story of Russia's growing suspicion of the West and a tendency towards neo-Soviet grandstanding. President Vladimir Putin last week said that, in response to 'strategic threats by other military powers', Russian long-range bombers would resume their Cold War routine of flights around the world. Russian jets have also started testing Nato defenses, 'buzzing' targets near US and UK bases.

Russia is particularly peeved about US plans to deploy an anti-missile defence shield, supported by facilities in former Eastern Bloc countries. Moscow does not believe Washington's claim that the shield is meant to ward off future Iranian or North Korean attacks.

Russian insecurity is easy to understand. The collapse of the Soviet Union cost Russia its global trading system, its European military alliance and a huge swath of its territory, including many ethnic Russians now resident in neighboring states. Any country that went through such a trauma might react by retreating into aggrieved ultra-nationalism. That is what Germany did, for example, after the First World War.

The comparison can be overstated. The Soviet Union did not suffer a military defeat in 1991 and the West did not impose punitive reparations. But it is striking how much Mr Putin's international sabre-rattling is matched by authoritarian tendencies at home. Political dissent has been crushed and state media promote a cult of the President.

Last week's scrambling of aged bombers to patrol the skies is a desperate bid for international attention and domestic applause. Such posturing is a sign of weakness. Russia has an underdeveloped economy, dependent on rising oil prices. Mr Putin wants recognition and respect from the West more than conflict. He is open to negotiation. But we must be wary of this neo-Soviet state. Britain can reassure Russia that it wants co-operation and partnership. But history warns of the danger of appeasing aggressive nationalism.