History Repeats? Repeats what?

Alexei Nikolsky, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP

Well, it repeats patterns, but not the details. The city of Moscow is a good example. First written mention is in year 1147 as a small village situated on the Moscow River, which flows into the much larger Volga River. About 300 years after Kiyiv is first noted in The Russian Primary Chronicle, Moscow grew to prominence with the help of two Russians, Ivan Kalita (John Moneybags) and Prince Yuriy Dolgorukiy (Prince George the Long Arm). Taken together, the moneybag and the long arm, these two are well-known and powerful patterns in the international real estate game of city and nation building.

Ivan Kalita had been the bag-man for Moscow, that is, he collected money to hand over to the various hordes of bad guys who came through from time to time demanding “protection money” to insure the town would not catch fire all at once.

It is not known whether Prince George’s name “The Long Arm” meant that one or both of his arms were longer than you might suppose, or whether this was a nickname characterizing his personality as “That’s mine, and that’s mine, too. Yes, and that and those are mine, all of them, all mine, mine,” which is a common pattern that history notes for some kings, queens, princes, autocrats, and dictators in various positions of power, especially if they have supportive dukes, oligarchs, generals, counts, or bagmen.

Without having any particular place or instance in mind, I’ll bet you could find one or more examples of this sort of moneybags and long-arm real estate, city and nation building in many spots around the globe. Buy it up, and if they won’t sell, just take it and buy them off. Look out! Ukraine! Watch out! Estonia, Poland and Germany!

I find it easy to see the same pattern in modern day Moscow, with oligarchs allowed to buy up major parts of the Soviet Union as it slipped away and begin their work as reliable bagmen, when I see President Vladimir Putin on television, strolling through the gilded halls of the Kremlin, on his way to a press conference or a meeting with President Xi, with his right arm flapping in a strange rhythm, as though damaged or too long to keep time with his left arm. And then, at the meeting, President Putin’s right arm brings the right hand up for a firm handshake with his guest.

The pattern is there. I can see it. The details are different.

Orrin Frink is a Kennebunkport resident. He can be reached at ofrink@gmail.com.