President Trump recently suggested that Russia is a “paper tiger,” a term used by Mao Zedong with reference to the U.S. and the capitalist world.

Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov immediately and predictably took umbrage: “Russia is by no means a tiger," he said. "Russia is traditionally seen as a bear. There is no such thing as paper bears. Russia is a real bear ... There is nothing paper about it.”

Peskov’s defensive remarks deserve a closer look.

He is absolutely right to say that his master’s Russia is no tiger, if by tiger we mean a vigorous, strong, and feral beast. Thanks to Putin’s manifold mistakes and stupidities, today's Russia is especially tired and weak — savage only inasmuch as it routinely terrifies the world with its attempts to pretend it is still vigorous and strong.

Peskov is also right to say that “Russia is traditionally seen as a bear.” What Putin’s mouthpiece left unmentioned is that the origins of the bear analogy go back to the sixteenth century and were developed by Western European........

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