Here’s What The Head Of The Russian Senate’s Foreign Affairs Committee Said About Brazil

The views that Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev concisely shared in his interview about Brazil’s January 8th incident are insightful and worth reflecting upon, especially him indirectly rubbishing speculation that the events were a failed military coup contrary to what some have imagined.

Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev chairs the Federation Council’s Foreign Affairs Committee and is thus among his country’s most reputable sources for discerning its true stance towards international events. His words should be therefore studied by those who hope to obtain a deeper understanding of how Russia interprets whatever it might be. In this case, it’s worthwhile reviewing the interview that he gave to the official Parliamentary Newspaper about Brazil’s recent regime change attempt.

It's in Russian, but Google Translate successfully conveys the points that he was trying to make, at least if one translates his words into English. His interview can be read here for those who want to check it out themselves, while readers will limited time can rely on the summary shared in the present piece and the subsequent analysis that’ll accompany it afterwards. To begin, Kosachev acknowledged the deep split in Brazilian society after last year’s close elections, which he said prompted some to question them.

At the same time, he doesn’t extend credence to claims of fraud and instead describes those accusations as emotionally driven. Accordingly, Kosachev added that this means that the failed regime change itself was thus also emotionally driven and not evidence of systemic problems that can be expected to regularly destabilize Brazil. The Senator added that a group of radicals manipulated the crowd and praised the military for quashing the unrest, which he described as very important.

Some counted on that institution supporting those who participated in the January 8th incident, he claimed, but it’s unclear who since he said that there wasn’t any single control center orchestrating events. He also observed how Bolsonaro distanced himself from those who took part in what happened. Kosachev then wrapped up the interview by reaffirming the legitimacy of Lula’s presidency and expressing hope that he’ll succeed in strengthening ties with Russia and the rest of the BRICS countries.

Although his insight into Brazil’s recent regime change attempt was concise, it was still significant. From his words, it can be intuited that this influential foreign policy formulator doesn’t blame the military as a whole for what just happened since they ultimately quashed the unrest, after all. One can interpret his words as hinting that some of its members might have been hoping that their superiors would authorize an intervention in support of those involved in events, but that didn’t happen at the end of the day.

It's with the observation in mind with respect to the military’s most influential figures recognizing the legitimacy of Lula’s presidency that Kosachev concluded that the January 8th incident doesn’t suggest systemic problems. What he was probably getting at was that the ultimately failed outcome of the recent regime change attempt proves that there isn’t any serious split between the armed forces and the new administration that could lead to the former institution as a whole turning against the latter.

This doesn’t mean that some elements within the military might not try to destabilize Lula’s government on their own prerogative and outside the knowledge of their institutional superiors (irrespective of whether this is independently driven or in collusion with a foreign power like the US). Rather, Kosachev simply seems to be saying that the military truly deserves praise for standing with the new administration during this difficult time when it could have instead carried out a conventional coup.

With Lula enjoying the military’s support, the Russian Senator therefore hopes that this three-time leader will succeed in further strengthening bilateral relations as well as making tangible progress on other aspects of his agenda. All told, the views that Kosachev shared in his interview about Brazil’s January 8th incident are insightful and worth reflecting upon, especially him indirectly rubbishing speculation that the events were a failed military coup contrary to what some have imagined.