Is Putin Performing a 'Crazy Ivan'? - a New Cold War Stirs

The term 'Crazy Ivan' was made famous by Tom Clancy's first novel - 'The Hunt for Red October' - published in 1984 and the subsequent blockbuster movie starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery.

The term, as called out by Sonar Operator Seaman Jones [Courtney B. Vance], is (or was) used by the U.S. Navy to describe a Soviet submarine maneuver - where a Soviet submarine commander would instruct his crew to perform a sudden series of sharp turns in order to check for adversaries hiding behind the submarine in its "baffles" [where the submarine's own propellers 'wake' blocks sonar coverage].

The 'Crazy Ivan' turns - instigated by paranoia or fear of American submarines getting too close - was an extremely dangerous performance and catastrophic collisions could and did happen when American submarines did in fact follow too close!

For the sake of pure nostalgia for the 'Cold War' - a more simple time it seems - when the grandiose ambitions of two superpower adversaries were kept clearly in check by an apocalyptic arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM's) - is it possible that Russia's President Vladimir Putin is performing a series of diplomatic 'Crazy Ivans'?

In recent months Putin's rhetoric against the U.S. - supported by his notion of the U.S.'s overbearing, hegemonic, influence in global affairs - has risen to a near fever pitch. Is this just good old fashioned Soviet paranoia? After all, Vladimir Putin is a product of the Soviet KGB - as an intelligence officer at the highest point of the Cold War.

As previous discussed (in an earlier post) Russia has finally emerged from the depths of post-Soviet lethargy and despair and its economic and political power is enjoying a resurgence under the, some might argue, dictatorial leadership of President Putin.