Sucking On A Pacifier

Why so many commentators are writing so many articles about the supposedly imminent collapse of Putin’s bellicose dictatorship

Image credit: Little Ones

In a great many countries it’s customary to give infants a plastic device they can suck on in order to comfort themselves in the absence of a real milk-dispensing nipple. The word for this device in the English language varies according to region. In the USA the most common terms are pacifier and binkie, in the UK the word dummy is most often used, with soother now gaining popularity perhaps because it’s actually the most appropriate term. Regardless of the precise word used, the purpose is the same: to provide the illusion of something very much desired that isn’t in fact present.

Which brings us to the seemingly endless stream of articles here on Medium and elsewhere that are the psychological equivalent of the baby’s pacifier. While the details of each article vary (different writers favor different pacifiers) the form is always the same and the psychological driver behind such articles is identical.

Here’s how these articles work: the writer finds some totally irrelevant fact and dresses this up as a fundamental blow to Putin’s ambition to establish a New Russian Empire. Regardless of how utterly implausible these “reasons” are, the writer…