Vladimir Putin

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• 5/8/2022
  

  The Dangerous Trend of Imperial Nostalgia – It's not Just Russia

  by Lawrence Wittner

  The embrace of the belief that nations are entitled to reclaim their past dominance underlies Russia's invasion of Ukraine but also is influencing the politics of Britain, France, China, and the United States. A renewed commitment to international cooperation is needed to thwart this dangerous turn. 

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  4/30/2022
  

  Putin's Far from the Only Autocrat Abusing History

  by Katie Stallard

  "As Putin is currently demonstrating, questionable historical narratives in faraway autocracies are a problem for democracies too."

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• 4/24/2022
  

  Understanding How Counterfactuals Shape Putin's Worldview and Historical Rhetoric

  by Gavriel Rosenfeld

  While historians have noted the instrumental use of history in Putin's speeches about Ukraine, more attention should be paid to his use of broad counterfactuals that, however they oversimplify historical contingency, successfully evoke politically potent emotions like regret, relief and fear. 

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• SOURCE: Wall Street Journal
  4/18/2022
  

  Is this the End of the Russian Empire?

  by Walter Russell Mead

  Historic empires have all ultimately faced a moment of reckoning when the reality of their fading power overcomes triumphal myths. The next phase of fighting in Ukraine will determine if that moment has come for Putin's Russia. 

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• SOURCE: CNN
  4/2/2022
  

  Historians: Putin's Strategy Echoes Hitler's Mistakes on Eastern Front

  Peter DeSimone, Timothy Snyder and Ian Ona Johnson discuss the errors of logistics, diplomacy, and treatment of civilians that have hindered the achievement of Russia's goals in Ukraine. 

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• SOURCE: Made By History at the Washington Post
  3/25/2022
  

  Putin's Threat to Confiscate Foreign Companies' Assets is Dangerous – To Russia

  by Benjamin Sawyer

  The Bolshevik seizure of foreign property and repudiation of foreign debt initially made the Soviet Union a pariah in the world economy, and slowed economic development thereafter. Will Putin's invasion of Ukraine have the same consequences for Russians? 

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• SOURCE: NPR
  3/29/2022
  

  How Putin Conquered Russia's Oligarchs

  A key for Putin's consolidation of power was not eliminating the post-Soviet oligarchy but shaking it down for protection money and political obedience.

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/24/2022
  

  Tim Snyder: How Putin Misjudged the Western Response

  Did Putin interpret the January 6 attack on the Capitol as evidence that American democracy and the Biden administration were too fracture and weak to coordinate a response to the invasion of Ukraine? 

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• SOURCE: Der Spiegel
  3/17/2022
  

  Political Scientist Ivan Krastev: Putin Lives by Historical Analogy

  "For Putin, Russia has long since ceased being a country in the standard sense; it is a kind of historic, 1,000-year-old body."

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• SOURCE: Deseret News
  3/17/2022
  

  Is Putin a New Constantine?

  by Daniel Gullotta

  "In short, Putin seems to strike some conservatives as a new Constantine for a new Christendom standing against progressive totalitarianism."

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  3/17/2022
  

  Now is the Time to Revisit Arendt's Origins of Totalitarianism

  by Anne Applebaum

  The political and economic supports for stability and prosperity in the developed world are more precarious than ever; the revival of authoritarianism that Arendt predicted may be at hand, making her work more vital than ever. 

• 
• 3/20/2022
  

  The Two Russias

  by Walter G. Moss

  Russia's literary traditions evoke a national character in stark opposition to the belligerent machismo of Putin, but it's unclear which Russia will prevail today. 

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• SOURCE: Boston Review
  3/14/2022
  

  Putin's Anti-Gay War on Ukraine

  by Emil Edenborg

  The Kremlin's political campaign of traditionalism has made homophobia into politics, and nationalism has made homophobia into geopolitics. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/15/2022
  

  Putin: Can' Win, Can't Afford to Lose

  by Max Boot

  As long as residents of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities have access to food and weaponry continues to come into the country, it's unlikely that Russia can prevail in an occupation. But Putin may not be politically able to avoid trying anyway. 

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• SOURCE: Washington Post
  3/14/2022
  

  Francis Fukuyama Revisits the "End of History" and Liberalism's Prospects After War

  "People really like being in liberal societies after they’ve gone through either horrible nationalist conflict (as in the two world wars of the 20th century) or they’ve had to live under authoritarian dictatorship (as people in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union did under communism)."

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• SOURCE: The Atlantic
  3/15/2022
  

  Putin's Nuclear Threats a Reminder of the Urgency of Disarmament

  by Uri Friedman

  Nuclear deterrence depends on factors like the rationality of leaders, the integrity of command protocols, and accuracy of information that are far from guaranteed to work in a crisis. 

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• SOURCE: Puck
  3/8/2022
  

  The Anniversary of Stalin's Death Shows Authoritarianism is Bigger than One Authoritarian

  by Julia Ioffe

  Liberal Russians reflect on Stalin's death 69 years later and observe parallels with Putin's approach to internal dissent. 

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• SOURCE: Mississippi Free Press
  3/3/2022
  

  Lies, Hubris, and Imperial Overreach: Putin's Big Mistakes in Ukraine

  by Brian Lapierre

  While the people of Ukraine will suffer most from war, the suffering of Russians under sanctions and domestic repression may in the long run prove fatal to Vladimir Putin's hold on power. 

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• SOURCE: New Statesman
  3/9/2022
  

  A Tale of Two Dictators: Putin's Relationship to Stalin's Legacy

  by Simon Sebag Montefiore

  Despite their ideological incompatibility, Putin's nationalism depends on the cult of fear and repressive apparatus of the Stalinist era, which was never comprehensively demolished after the fall of Communism. 

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• SOURCE: Dissent
  3/2/2022
  

  The Seeds of War

  by Gregory Afinogenov

  Putin's actions belie the argument that Russia was provoked by NATO expansion; Russian imperialism is driving neighbors toward the western alliance, not the other way around.