Fifth Column in geopolitical coordinate system
Its meaning is defined quite firmly under Russian circumstances too. So the term has a quite strict frame of its meaning. But it is also very useful for any other country that under indirect control or in focus of U.S. interests.
The concept makes sense only if we clearly and unambiguously admit the radical confrontation between Russia on the one hand and the United States and NATO countries on the other hand. The confrontation, however, in contrast to the Soviet period, can't be described in ideological terms as both Russia and the Western countries are a democratic society with the capitalist economic market and a mostly liberal ideology (individualism, civil society, freedom of speech and of movement, conscience, rights human, etc.). Even the model of eastern and western Christianity confrontation which determines the opposition of the Orthodox Russian Empire and, earlier, the Moscow Russia, and the Catholic-Protestant Europe, is not convenient. Today both Russia and the Western countries are secular societies. That's why only the geopolitics that considers history as planetary duel between two civilization of Sea (the Western countries) and of the land (the Heartland, Russia), i. e. the Great of the Continents, is convenient to determine the true nature of the confrontation. In the case, the opposition powers with different Christian denominations, before the October Revolution, and the ideological war between socialism and capitalism, and the NATO expansion to the East in the 90s are different moments of more general geopolitical script which realize permanent contradiction between the Sea, trading systems (Carthage, Athens, the UK), and the Land the society with the heroic values (Rome, Sparta, Russia). After the end of the USSR, the true geopolitical nature of the confrontation became evident: the era of geopolitics began.
The geopolitics divides into districts the space and the societies by its main criteria: some lands, counties, political and social movements belongs to the Sea civilization, i. e. to the Western World, to the Empires of trade and colonial type; the others are part of the Land civilization, the Empires of conservative values. The boundaries divide in the political space that they may be congruent with the countries' borders or can separate them inside by the civilized choice.
The zone of the US influence (the North America, the EU, the pro-American regimes and political structures in the world) is an area of Atlanticism, the Sea civilization. The Land civilization has as its main core Russian space (it is a constant of the global geopolitics, reveled the founder of the H. Mackinder's discipline: "Who controls Eurasia, controls the whole world"), as well as the bordering strategic areas. All the bordering zones may be drawn to the Land civilization or to the Sea one. The geo-political networks perform there: some of them, Eurasian, i. e. the Land culture and society, reach for Russia; the other, the Atlanticist, i.e. the Sea, – to the United States and NATO. The Ukrainian drama proves the geopolitics law: the country has its geopolitical border exactly in the middle; in the Southeast and in the Crimea, people clearly have Eurasian, the Land, pro-Russian identity; in the West and partly in the center, – the pro-American, the Atlanticist one. It is the geopolitical polarity that caused the collapse of immature Ukrainian statehood in 2014. After the coup d'etat, the radical Atlanticists that had come to power immediately faced the fierce opposition in the Crimea and on the South-East that caused the Crimea withdrawal to Russia and the civil war.
However, going back to the fifth column in the Russian society. Now its nature is more obvious: it consists of those groups that support the Sea civilization (the United States, NATO) and oppose the dominant historically in Russia the Land, Eurasian identity. This fifth column backed the collapse of continental Land structure, represented by the Soviet Union, then came to power under Yeltsin in 90s, when Andrei Kozyrev, Russian Foreign Minister, openly declared their "Atlanticist" position, and then used to be in head of Russia's ruling political, economic and cultural elite until 2000. The whole its period, it could not be called as the "fifth column" in full sense as it was able to fully come in power and to suppress the patriotic opposition. The Fifth Column and the regime of Russian liberal reformers of the 1990s are the synonymous. Nevertheless, in the geopolitical context, at that time the Russian ruling elite was none other than the Fifth Column: it did not perform for the national interest but as an instrument of external control. The decision-making center was located in the West, and Moscow liberals only fulfilled the solutions, trying to maximize the benefits and profits for themselves and their business. So the Russian oligarchy was created, the power of a small group of magnates seized, under the privatization and the reckless corruption, entire state monopolies: first of all, the energy sphere.
Fifth column: from the ruling liberal reformers to non-system opposition
The most important quirk of fate for the pro-Western comprador oligarchy was coming to power of Vladimir Putin in 2000. Putin stopped the external control and began a careful displacement of the most radical agents of influence of the Atlanticism power. Since that moment, the creation of the fifth column as an independent socio-political phenomenon began. Since the early 2000s the Putin's opposition consisted of Atlanticism representatives that had dominated in the 1990s and had been marginalized with the beginning of Putin's term and changing his course towards the Land civilization, Eurasianism. Since that moment, the "liberal opposition", consisting of Westerners, the disgraced oligarch and strict Russophobes started to remind more and more the True Fifth Column: fighting with Putin its became more openly focused on the US and NATO countries, descending the direct financial support and promoting the anti-national interests of Russia and its sovereignty in favor of globalization and cosmopolitan lifestyle. The most important is that the geopolitical Fifth Column (the civilizational level) began to form as the internal Fifth Column performing against its country inside it. But the core of this fifth column was consisted of the ones who, in the 90s, were in the center of the political establishment: the oligarchs (Gusinsky, Berezovsky, Khodorkovsky), policymakers (former Prime Minister Kasyanov, former Deputy Prime Minister Nemtsov, a former deputy of the Party of power Ryzhkov), the media, art and culture people. The Fifth Column of the street opposition united other important persons, retiring from the political elite at the Putin term. However, the most important is that the Fifth Column typology still remained the same, when it had its own position within the political system and when it is provided as a non-systemic radical opposition. So it is double phenomenon: the open (explicit) Fifth Column representing radical anti-Putin street liberal pro-Western opposition and the latent (implicit) Fifth Column with the oligarchs, politicians, officials, analysts, experts, community leaders, media owners who found a possible way, even being Atlanticists and same radical than anti-Putin radicals, to remain within the political regime, following Putin and his patriotic course. In the geopolitics context, both of them are the Fifth Column in the full sense; they both perform in the US, NATO and Western interests; they both follow the principles of the trading system, of liberalism, of individualism, of globalization, etc.; and they both are opposed to the Russian original identity, to its "special way", not considering its sovereignty and civilizational uniqueness value (rather, on the contrary, regarding them as an obstacle for the progress and the modernization). But in term to attitude toward Putin, their positions differ considerably: some of them strictly oppose him, the other, for some tactical reasons, find that it is necessary to support him and to interpret his words and actions for the Atlantist interests, even sometimes engaging sabotage of the patriotic reforms and steps, aimed at strengthening Russian sovereignty. In Putin's opinion, the first one are his true enemies and outright opponents of Russia, chose uniquely to the Western World; the others are his followers, supporters and colleagues, even if they aimed at the civilizational treachery and sabotage. Geopolitically, the entire Fifth Column, both in power and of opposition, is the same thing. In terms of domestic politics, they are on opposite sides: the first group is against Putin, the second group is for him.
"Sixth Column": concept introduction
To emphasize the distinction between the two segments of the Fifth Column, it is important to introduce the neologism, the "Sixth columns". As in the case of the Fifth Column, showing that Emilio Mola, the Franco general, had, in addition to the four main column, a special group of Franco supporters, controlling the Republicans Madrid (it was called the "Fifth"), the number "six" has no symbolism. It was introduced just for the convenience of the correct political analysis. And the Fifth and the Sixth Columns can be described as supporters of the Sea civilization within the Land one, i.e. a network of Atlanticist agents of influence within modern Russia. In terms of their fundamental positions, priorities and values, both Columns are practically the same: they have one ideal, one owner, one benchmark, one ideology, the United States, the Western, the euro-atlanticist civilization, liberalism, globalism, global financial oligarchy. But their relation toward Putin are fundamentally different: the Fifth Column in Russian society is usually called the one that is openly and completely against Putin, for the US and NATO, against the Crimea, against Russia, against the Russian identity, against the sovereignty, against the Eurasian integration, against the return of Russia in history as a world power. It is pure betrayal in its sharp, candid stage when considering it on the scale of the country and the people, but from the Putin's position, they are his evident enemies. The Sixth Column includes those who still has no definition in the political science dictionary: its representatives are pro-Putin and pro-Russians, but at the same time pro-liberal, pro-Western, willing Russia to be modernized and westernized, wanting its globalization and integration into the Western world with the European values and institutions, waiting for Russia to become a prosperous corporation in the world where all the rules and laws are set by the global Western World that Russia must become a part, and which is destined to become as much as possible under more worthy and profitable circumstanced. The Sixth Columns is not the Putin's enemies, it is his supporters. If they are betrayers, it is correct not for a national scale, but on the scale of civilization. They do not attack Putin in his every patriotic step, they restrain him. If the Fifth Column fiercely falls upon all Putin's projects, such as the Olympic Games, the Column mocks at the Fifth one and is proud of the Olympics. But when it comes to the Crimea, it is recommended to stop at the Olympics successes and not to risk with the image victory. When the Fifth Column arrange a traitors' march against reunification with Crimea, the Sixth Column try to put out the patriotism flame, accepting the Crimea as an unavoidable expenses, while strongly emphasizing that it may have high price to be paid, then strictly advises Putin to calm down with the Southeast of Ukraine, as it may threaten successes with the Crimea. When Russian troops entered the People's Republic of Donetsk, the Fifth Column says about military aggression against the sovereign Ukrainian democratic countries, and the Sixth Column puts pressure on Putin to stop there and not to extend the peacekeeping operation in the Kharkov and Odessa.
The Sixth Column and the Fifth Column are united. So everyone from representative of the political and economic elite of the 1990s, ejected or simply axed by Putin, is a natural candidate of the Sixth Column to the Fifth one. The most important thing there is that both Columns are the part of the same network, geopolitically performing against Russia as the civilization and against Putin as its historic leader.
In many European countries you can find the same activity. One group is strongly for liberal atlanticist policy and NATO. And Sixth Column there proud for “European values” and exploits image of the patriots, but also connected with neo-liberal agenda.
Sixth Column and CFR network in Russia
To make the Sixth Column structure more precise, few remarks should be noted. The Fifth and Sixth Columns have slightly different leaders in the USA; the Fifth Column is supported and instructed by the most extreme Russophobian-imperialist forces, openly promoting the American hegemony. Most of them are neoconservative Republicans (Kristol, Keygan, Nuland, Palin, McCain, etc.), even many hawks among the Democrats (such as Brzeziński) back them too. The Sixth Column is based on a more flexible strategy of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) , that is ready to find compromise with Moscow on some issues as its members believe that Russia is easier to be conquered not by the direct confrontation, but through the step-by-step and multi-way talks . Obviously, the neo-conservatives and the CFR-members have, eventually, the common goal to the extend the US global domination, but their means are different. So the Russian Fifth and Sixth Columns perform symmetrically as its American curators: they have a common goal to overthrow Putin and to deprive Russia of its sovereignty, but the first one achieve it from the bottom, by direct confrontation (the Fifth Column), and the second one from top by influencing Putin and attempting to replace him carefully by someone more acceptable for the global financial oligarchy.
The Sixth Column, during the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev, practically succeeded to achieve their desirable goal. Brzeziński even inspired Medvedev for a second term, promising to reconsider its Russophobia. But Putin's returned in 2012 completely destroying their plans; and another group of people of the Sixth Columns turned into the Fifth Columns
Sixth Column: existential enemy
What can oppose the Fifth and Sixth Columns of Russia unless the civilization, the nation, the historical force, the subject of world politics? Now the government conducts several serious actions to fight against the Fifth Column of outright traitors and enemies of Putin and of his patriotic policy. As the main controllers of the Sixth Column, previously covering the Fifth one inside the Kremlin, were overthrown, the checks and the conventions against the radical Atlanticist opposition were dead and gone. Putin openly called them "national traitors" and efficiently took a number of specific measures to localize them; including in information and Internet space. Under wartime conditions (the Ukraine conflict) it takes little efforts to fight against the Fifth Column: the country, including the force ministries and departments, requires only strict implementation of the regulations and the taken decisions. Without any patron in the Kremlin, the Fifth Column is extremely weak and inconsistent. It is efficient only when the government has its hands tied and its eyes closed, and during an emergency crisis, disasters, etc. That's why now the Fifth Column can be identified, localized and brought under control. Some of its representatives will escape from Russia, the other will hide, the other will go over the Sixth Column, the most uncompromising will be punished. But it is only a technical issue. It will be very serious only if Russia become sharply weaken and face considerable challenges that, however, can't be excluded. But then the Fifth Column will became just a group of saboteur, and repressive measures will be carried out against it. But Kremlin has enough the will and the understanding to prevent it.
The more problematic issue is the Sixth Column. Its presence in the political and economic elite of Russia is still almost dominant. It doesn't show up, truly supporting Putin and his policies. Strongly defends the interests of Russian corporations. It doesn't objected any the President's ideas. It motivates its position by the "government's interests ", by the "limited resources", by the "taking into account the international situation", by the "care of the foreign policy and foreign economic relations", by the "concern of the Russian image." The Sixth Column consists of the system liberals, of the efficient public managers, of the loyal oligarchs, of the executive bureaucrats, of the active officials, and even some "enlightened patriots." Putin trust and rely on them. Their consciousness to act according to the usual scheme of unipolar Western Atlanticist operating system may not be evident. They are part of the Sea civilization, not only by thier personal choice, but even because of the circumstances. The paradigm started to function in the 90s, and its influence is still quite perceptible in Russian society even now. It influence most of the economic structures, educational and cultural institutions, contemporary Russian lifestyle. The modern Russia is "Russian" only relatively. It Land, Eurasian identity shows only weakly thought imposed foreign, in fact, occupational forms and norms of life. Now Russians are under the Western authority in a much deeper sense than direct technical external control, as it was in the 90s opened. The Western world is within Russians in all senses, including the mind, the analysis, the system of relations, meanings and values. The current civilization is not quite Russian, it is not the Russian world, but it is something that may become the Russian world. Of course, it has historical reasons, and even the story itself requires Russian to return to their deepest identity – Russian Renaissance, Russian Spring. But thr process of spiritual restoration of the Homeland, of the Russian essence, of the Russian origins, to the Russian fate, has the fundamental enemy. It is the Sixth Column. It is so accelerated inside the ruling elite that block any healthy initiative of the Russian President. The Sixth Column continues to strangle Russian revival in politics, economics, culture, education, morals, values, information spheres. It holds us in politics and in social transformation, in the ideas and the arts. The Sixth Column a hundred times a day betrays Putin, cools down the revival, sabotages so urgent and vital patriotic reforms, again turns the national idea into a simulacrum. If the government started war against the Fifth Column, the Sixth Column still enjoys immunity and freedom. Today it is the major obstacle in Ukraine and in Europe, in Eurasian integration, in domestic policy. It is invisible, sly, mean, confident, deeply rooted in the structures of power, following well-made Western plan. If Putin won't find the courage to fight the Sixth Column, his momentous achievements, its historical mission, will be too fragile, reversible, and even ephemeral. Putin is now busy making history. But the historical mission to revive Russia is the main object of hatred of the Sixth Column. It performs in the interests of civilization that is the alternative to Russian. In fact, it's the same Fifth Column only to pretending to be something else.
Today the Sixth Column is the main existential enemy of Russia. In the world of network wars such a snake, entered the structures of power influence, often becomes a crucial to destroy the political regimes and overthrow the leader. Ukraine became a victim not just the Fifth Column of Euromaidan, but the Sixth Columns within the Yanukovych administration and the Party of Regions. The Washington strategists are preparing something similar for Russia. Advance warning provides an advantage. It is possible to endure the CFR agents taking key seats in the government. But it is possible not to endure it. However, Russian, not just Putin himself, will have to pay for this patient. But their fates are connected, Putin took the side of the Russian people, and it is irreversible. His success is success of Russian people. Its failures are failures of Russians.
It will be quite interesting and useful to do similar analysis for Sixth column in EU, Near East countries, Latin America and so on.