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President Obama has bent over backward to accommodate Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent years and gotten virtually nothing in return. The Kremlin's antics during the Snowden affair, granting the American whistle-blower a one-year asylum as a way of thumbing its nose at Washington, is just the latest in a series of slights.
Obama famously came into office promising to "reset" relations with Moscow. And he made some small accomplishments when Dmitry Medvedev was at the helm, including passage of a new START treaty. The quid pro quo for playing nice has ostensibly been Russian cooperation on other issues, such as nuclear disarmament, Iran and Syria.
But Russia has only played the role of obstructionist. It has vetoed resolutions pushing to sanction the Assad regime in Syria, while continuing to supply Damascus with anti-aircraft weaponry. On Iran, Russia has been more helpful, but talks with Tehran still remain at a standstill.
I used to think that Russia would someday emerge as a European power, replete with a vibrant civil society, free press and reborn cultural scene. I was wrong. Instead it invades its neighbors, jails its rock bands and harasses its dissidents.
Businessmen who run afoul of the Kremlin end up on trial. Putin has opted out of joining the Open Government Partnership, which pushes for greater transparency. (Full disclosure: My wife formerly worked at the initiative.) Two members of the band Pussy Riot remain behind bars. Alexei Navalny, a dissident muckraker, was recently sentenced to five years for trumped up charges of embezzlement. And Sergei Magnitsky — after whom a U.S. human rights legislation was named — was posthumously found guilty of tax evasion. This is a mockery of the rule of law. Even Russia's crown jewel of culture, the Bolshoi Theater, is in disarray.
With the fifth anniversary of the war in Georgia this month, it's worth remembering that Russia plays by its own rules, which are driven by a potent mix of paranoia, insecurity and faded grandeur. Russia is like an ex-jock who still wants to be taken seriously, despite a growing beer gut and a habit of talking down to everyone around him.
Consider that Russia, when it goes exploring for mineral deposits near the North Pole, does not do what most civilized countries do and file claims with the international bodies for exploratory rights. Instead, it brusquely plants a Russian flag on the seabed, as if it were a moon landing.
Or consider even something as innocuous as hosting the World University Games, to which participating countries send amateur athletes at the collegiate level (notice the word "university" in the competition's title). Instead, Russia fields only its professional athletes and — surprise, surprise — trounces the competition.
The Kremlin's ban on Americans' adoptions of Russian orphans also follows this trend of asserting itself with sharp elbows on the world stage.
Russia increasingly reflects its thuggish leader.
Putin thought nothing of stealing a Super Bowl ring from the New England Patriots owner visiting the Kremlin on a goodwill mission in 2005. He has pushed a raft of new laws that criminalize homosexuality. A man like this only sees the world in zero-sum terms — what's good for the U.S. must be bad for Russia and vice versa. If America is becoming more open to same-sex marriage, Russia should double-down on its homophobia.
We should stop pretending that Russia is a normal country that adheres to Western norms of reciprocity and respect for human rights.
Obama should refuse all future one-on-one meetings with Putin and push for Russia to be expelled from the Group of Eight leading industrialized nations, an elite club of democracies that Russia never should have been allowed to join. A U.S. boycott of next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi, while an extreme gesture, should not be taken off the table. Although though such boycotts have not worked, at least it would signal to Russia that its behavior has consequences while it would put our values above our interests (something lacking in the Obama administration, despite its lofty rhetoric).
We've tried being accommodating to Russia, and it has gotten us little in return. It is time to turn up the pressure on Moscow for its appalling behavior, both at home and abroad. A bully only responds to force, not to reason.
Lionel Beehner, a fellow with the Truman National Security Project, is a member of USA TODAY's Board of Contributors.
In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors . To read more columns like this, go to theopinion front page or follow us on Twitter @USATopinion or Facebook.
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