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Putin Compares Himself to Peter the Great and Just Revealed His Ukrainian Endgame
Getting into Putin’s mind these days is no easy task.
So when he tells us what his endgame is in Ukraine, through historical comparisons, we should take note.
Yesterday, Putin met with a group of young entrepreneurs at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum where he gave a short speech comparing himself to Peter the Great and his war against Sweden.
Putin: “I would like to begin by saying the following. We live in an era of change . . . I am not even talking about global leadership, I mean leadership in any area — any country, any people, any ethnic group should ensure their sovereignty. Because there is no in-between, no intermediate state: either a country is sovereign, or it is a colony, no matter what the colonies are called.”
This is interesting in that it reveals how Putin thinks about the world. In his mind, there are strong countries — which get to be “sovereign” — and there are weak countries who should be considered “colonies.”
There’s no in-between.
Since Ukraine began seeking closer ties with the west, and likely long before, Putin decided that Ukraine was a state without sovereignty and without a national identity.
