Zbigniew Brzezinski: biography, personal life, creativity, reviews

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Zbigniew Brzezinski has been gone for more than a year, but his name is remembered in Russia and, perhaps, will be remembered for a long time to come. It will be cunning if you say that this will be done by everyone with a grateful and light heart. After all, if you ask an expert on the history of the collapse of the USSR to name Western strategists and analysts who really accelerated this process, then the name of Brzezinski will sound first.

How did his opponents remember him? Extremely dangerous because of his extraordinary intelligence. He not only possessed the rare innate instinct of an analyst - to discern among the thousands of little things the enemy's critical weak point, but also the abilities of an organizer and a practitioner who actively influences him until defeat.

Life is gone. Reviews of Zbigniew Brzezinski

What are the reviews left about him by the inhabitants of the United States? Answer: grateful. Americans say that his knowledge and understanding of political strategies was deep and clear. US notwould have been so strong if not for Brzezinski.

How is this person assessed in his historical homeland, in Poland? They treat him like a native person, his compatriot. The Poles received the news of his death with great regret. Brzezinski never forgot where he came from.

Reviews from Russia, of course, differ from the above. Most of them are short and gloating. After all, political observers did not call Zbigniew “the best enemy of the USSR” for nothing. "Why the best?" - you ask. This refers to the well-known Eastern idiom, according to which a smart enemy is more valuable than a fool friend. Moreover, thoughtful older Russians agree that if there had been an analyst of this level in the Soviet Politburo of the 1970s, the outcome of the Cold War could very well have been different. It was a worthy contender from the outgoing generation of thoughtful advisors.

Personality

Reading the memoirs of various people who had the honor of talking with him, you are convinced that the conversation left them a true intellectual pleasure. A man who is on the hierarchical ladder in the camp of people burdened with supreme power, tough and authoritarian, he was distinguished by the fact that he was always sincerely interested in his interlocutor. I could ask: “What do you think about this?” or say, “I totally agree with you.”

This intellectual of the highest order was the brains of US foreign policy strategies, seeing the perspectives hidden for others and not wasting his efforts on the secondary.

He was a true patriot of America, but also lovedPoland as a country of their national identity. The strategist appreciated the fact that the United States "opened up huge opportunities for him." His creative personality, consistently developing foreign policy, has always received support. At the same time, he resolutely rejected conventions and patterns. For Zbigniew Brzezinski, there were no authorities, except for the only one - Pope John Paul II, whom he considered "the first and only leader of mankind."

Strike on the Warsaw Pact

The peak of his career fell on the reign of Jimmy Carter, he was in 1977-1981. was the national security adviser to the president, in fact, the second person in the state. With his bold and innovative work, he made himself respected by the battered officials of the American establishment. With his arrival, work began on specific priority tasks that, in the long term, destroyed the structure of the Warsaw Pact. First, support was provided to the Polish trade union Solidarity. The second step of the strategist was the tough position of the United States, which played ahead of the curve, preventing the entry of Soviet troops according to the Hungarian scenario of 1956. And the third step of the “childish swearing” set by the Politburo of the USSR was the personal merit of Zbigniew Brzezinski in the forced admission of Poland to NATO, and the weight. As a result, the military-political treaty of the socialist countries ceased to exist.

We will involve the USSR in the war according to the Vietnamese scenario

In December 1979, the Soviet Union made a strategic mistake by unleashing the Afghan conflict. The role of Brzezinski in its initiation was extremely activeand consistent. In July 1979, the strategist wrote a memorandum to the US President calling for the USSR to be drawn into the Afghan analogue of the Vietnam War.

It was a clear step by step plan. On the one hand, the budget of the Soviet Union was weighed down by excessive military spending (the United States organized and armed Mujahideen units). On the other hand, the Americans launched the mechanism of financial sanctions, depriving Moscow of oil and gas dollars doping.

As a result of the implementation of this scenario, the economy of the Soviet Union really could not withstand the opportunity costs and, in the language of pilots, entered a critically dangerous tailspin.

Specialization - foreign policy

The ambitious child of a Polish diplomat dreamed of becoming nothing less than the president of his country. From childhood, he surprised others with his IQ. However, in his homeland, he, along with the family of his father, who was on his way to the places of service, did not have a chance to live. In Germany, he caught the Nazis coming to power, and while in the USSR, he heard about mass political repressions. Perhaps, since then, Zbigniew made a decision for himself - to serve the victory of democracy over dictatorship. Consonant with his worldview, George Orwell figuratively said about this: "If you need an image of the future (totalitarian), imagine a boot trampling on a person's face - forever." Brzezinski did not want to allow such a future.

When his homeland ended up in the socialist camp, he and his father, the Consul General of Poland, were in Canada.

Graduated in 1950McGill University with a bachelor's degree Zbigniew Brzezinski. His biography testifies: foreign policy began to interest the hero of our article from a young age.

The young man received the academic title of professor of political science while studying at Harvard. The topic of Brzezinski's dissertation indicated his specialization - "The totalitarian system of the USSR." The publication in 1961 of the academic work "The Soviet Bloc: Unity and Conflict" was a signal for specialists: a geostrategist has appeared in the West, with whom everyone will have to reckon. The fundamental knowledge and subtle construction of the mind of this man is evidenced by his further teaching at the "forge of personnel" of the American elite, Harvard.

Rise after falls

The son of a high-ranking respected diplomat, he learned from a young age to overcome obstacles with dignity. After graduating from a Canadian university with honors, the Pole received a scholarship to study in Britain, which he could not use. There was a fatal formality: he did not have Canadian citizenship.

Zbigniew travels to the US, where he enters Harvard, where he becomes a professor. However, even here he was faced with a surprise: one day his contract was not renewed. The leadership did not like the non-cabinet character, the critical approach to authorities and the independence of the young scientist. But here, too, he "makes lemonade out of lemons", heading the Center for the Study of Communism in New York.

Doctor of Political Science has been involved in practical politics since 1960. At the first stage, he effectivelyparticipated in two presidential campaigns and lost in one. At first, John F. Kennedy, among many candidates, chose him as his adviser. Then in 1964, under President Lyndon Johnson, Zbigniew Brzezinski was engaged in political planning at the State Department. It made him a name in politics.

Finally, he loses in 1968, participating in the presidential campaign of Democrat Hubert Humphrey. However, defeat gives his flexible mind the opportunity to assess the situation from a different angle.

Zbigniew implements the second stage of his political career on a completely different level. Brzezinski no longer needs to explain who is who in world politics. He convinces John Rockefeller and becomes co-chairman of a non-governmental body with him - the Trilateral Commission (government over governments), which united the sharks of world business, i.e. real holders of power whose strategies are followed by presidents.

Professor's books

Note that it is not in the style of Zbigniew Brzezinski to hide his vision of global politics from the public. Oddly enough, the greatness of this statesman lies in the fact that he did not make secrets behind seven seals from his views, but after a while made them public. In the world, his works have been published in huge editions for people interested in politics, the consistent impeccable logic of the lines of which is fascinating. The latter circumstance gives us the opportunity to have an open-minded conversation about his views.

The temptation of the opponents of the strategist to present his views as stereotyped, full of hatred for Russia, trying to build America into aabsolute. Is this Zbigniew Brzezinski? Books written by him at different times testify to the dynamic evolution of his views. We list the most famous works of the professor:

• Grand Chessboard (1997);
• "Choice. World domination and global leadership” (2004);
• "One more chance. 3 presidents and the crisis of American power” (2007);
• “America and the world. Conversations on the Future of American Foreign Policy” (2008)
• “Strategic vision. America and the Global Crisis” (2012)

And this is deliberately hushed up by his critics. They are trying to label him as a pro-American campaigner. However, as you guessed, this is a lie. The professor is not so simple, he does not speak out loud about all his goals, only implying a lot. Those who are familiar with his books claim that it is a real pleasure to try, getting acquainted with a particular work, to read between the lines.

A look into the future

The professor formulated a model of not only a unipolar world, but also a multipolar world. Moreover, his vision of the world, set out in the last two books, is of the greatest interest. At the same time, an interesting trend is visible. The foreign policy strategist, who in the first books seems to implement the notorious principle “America is the captain of the universe”, in fact, prepares civilization for democratic rule. In his latest writings, Brzezinski gives a detailed definition of world centers of power. There is no longer talk of US hegemony. According to the professor, only with their interaction can international politics be optimized.

However, back to his first known work. The fundamental book written by Zbigniew Brzezinski, most often criticized by apologists, The Grand Chessboard, was published more than twenty years ago. And this means that in this century the ideas of the book should not be considered as an absolute. Naturally, they are subject to correction. However, let's consider this work in more detail.

Grand Chessboard

The idea of the book is to implement the idea of a unipolar world by the United States through the use of economic, military, technological and cultural advantages. The area of implementation of the US geostrategic interests is the Eurasian continent. Zbigniew Brzezinski introduces the concept of the Heartland (Heart of the Earth) to specify the area to which America will exert its efforts to control. "Chessboard" (Eurasia), based on its theoretical conclusion, will certainly be controlled by the United States if they control the Heartland.

Zbigniew Brzezinski regards the collapse of the USSR as a past stage of this strategy. The "grand chessboard" (Eurasia) in relation to the United States is characterized by various geostrategic zones that impede the implementation of the plan. By the way, these zones in their totality form the Heartland. Naturally, America is going to realize its long-term interests relying on NATO forces.

Analyst Brzezinski's Views on Russia (1997)

In the structure of the Heartland, Brzezinski considered Russia to be the most critical component. Doesin this tendentious rejection of the descendant of the Polish gentry of Muscovy? Isn't it true that the above is primitive enough to characterize a world analyst of the first magnitude, which was Zbigniew Brzezinski. The great law of the development of civilizations fully corresponds to the professor's analytics. He aptly compares Russia with France at various periods of history: both states at a certain stage “stuck their brains” in imperialism: an obsessive mania, guided by abstract ideas, to create an empire that ex alts itself and makes its neighbors unhappy. Moreover, France has recovered from this disease, actually coming to the conclusion that the main thing is people, not ideas. Russia, according to the professor, is still on the way to understanding this.

The book “The Grand Chessboard” by Zbigniew Brzezinski causes the greatest amount of criticism, and this is natural, in the fragment where the author, as a theoretician, speaks of the territorial division of Russia into three parts. Note that the apologists quote the scientist out of context.

Crisis version of Brzezinski's strategy

The context is that critics ignore the initial conditions of such a statement. It's about force majeure. Brzezinski suggests how to secure the world community if Russia becomes a clear and open aggressor.

The very idea of division is purely technocratic: raw material deposits are artificially separated from industrial centers. I would like to remind critics that these plans will not come true in a democratic Russia that respects humanthe values of their people and the people of neighboring states. The special case envisaged by the meticulous professor is not at all a program of action for the world's largest country in terms of territory. In subsequent works, Zbigniew Brzezinski talks about Russia exclusively in the context of helping to build a democratic society.

Conclusion

The master of geopolitics passed away at the age of 89 on May 26, 2017 at a hospital in Falls Church. Obviously, there was no more competent person in the world in this area than he, the executive director of the Trilateral Commission, or, as it is called, the “world government”. Obviously, in Russia, some said: "The enemy is dead." To which others replied that not everything is so clear.

For him, who comprehended many subtleties of foreign policy, the world was indeed predictable, like a chessboard for a grandmaster. Zbigniew Brzezinski's book with a similar title is still the ABC of geopolitics today.