I’ve been attacked from all sides for making comments about contemporary Russia and Russian politics. I’ve been told that I’m in the pocket of Putin, or at the very least a naive “useful idiot”. Simultaneously, that same comment led others to tell me that I am Russophobic, a blind westerner who does not understand anything, and that I am contributing to anti-Russian views. One of the biggest challenges I have is to criticize what I think needs to be criticized, but without propagating anti-Russian-ness. That bad actors in the Russian state gladly make use of the Russophobia defense in order to cover illegal and immoral actions makes this nuanced work all the more important, I think.

My concern today is with the persistent, regressive Cold War-era views in the west towards Russia. They are pervasive, can be spotted in actions small and large and, I think, often mask more dangerous and problematic realities underneath. For example, today I saw this on Twitter:

I have nothing against this Twitter user and do not want to disparage their other posts, many of which I find sympathetic and spot on. Instead, I want only to focus on this tweet and what views are reflected and presented here.

Aside from the fact that these pictures could easily be headlined something like “Stunning architectural marvel ‘Stilt House’ sold to actor Chris Hemsworth for $18 million”, what really gets me is the hashtag: #EvilBuildings. Because Putin is evil, get it. Ha ha.

Looking deeper, these pictures sure look like architectural renderings. It takes one second to google and find one of many sources, like this one: an Amazing Architecture picture essay of a concept house by Roman Vlasov. Sure, it’s entitled Putin House, but it’s also simply a visualization. It doesn’t exist in real life. And, to be fair, the Amazing Architecture piece doesn’t say anything negative about Russia or Putin in their piece. It’s just spotlighting this new work by a Russian designer.

Incidentally, I’d recommend looking at more of Vlasov’s work at his site and here. I find some of his work stunning, and I think it would be great if more Americans knew that this is what some contemporary Russian design looks like.

Anyway, back to the depressing tweets. Here are some of the very predictable comments that followed:

The James Bond villain trope was very popular in the comments, and you’re not alone for thinking it.

Aside from rendering invisible the work of a talented Russian designer, I think a big problem with all this is that it obscures a legitimate problem in Russia: Putin’s actual “house”.

Alexey Navalny’s excellent investigation Putin’s Palace is required viewing if you care about this sort of thing. It’s long, detailed, documented, brave, and absolutely damning. It also has English subtitles, so you should definitely make the time. At the time of writing, Navalny is on hunger strike in prison.

So it’s a concern, I think, that an architectural rendering can be taken for a real project and then scores of unwitting people repeat the trope that Putin is a James Bond villain. Because real villainy isn’t living in a super modern house on stilts. It’s pilfering over a billion US dollars for a secret palace on the Black Sea, jailing the man who led and published the investigation into that palace, smashing the subsequent nationwide protests with unrestrained brutality, and attacking the remaining free press outlets in the country.

Those are real issues, but they’re not unique to Russia. They’re symptoms of authoritarian practices that we see all over the globe now, from the assaults on academic freedom and freedom of association and religion in France to the brutal repression of protest in Britain to the continued hollowing out of democracy in the United States. And putting these in a container labeled “Evil Putin”, as though these problems are limited to Russia and Russians, is a dangerous mistake. If anything, this should be a call for global solidarity and a warning of what happens when tyrants remain unchecked.