Putin's Dream

[kentuck]

Since the fall of the old Soviet Union and his glory days as a chief in the old KGB, Vladimir Putin has dreamed of putting the old "Union" back together.

In August, 2008, Russia invaded Georgia to restore order. Georgia wanted very much to join NATO. That was not to be. The Russians are still in control today. ( https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/10/russia-invasion-georgia-12-years-no-end-ambassador-david-bakradze-interview/ )

Putin was seeing and hearing the same rumblings from Ukraine about wanting to join NATO. He sees that as an existential threat to his dream of uniting the old Soviet Union. He has made a power play around the borders of Ukraine. American and European intelligence expect him to do the same thing in Ukraine that he did in Georgia.

He is slowly and systematically attempting to put the old order back in place. Ukraine is a new democracy and does not want to be under the control of Russia.

If Ukraine postpones its wishes to enter NATO, it may postpone the invasion of their country. But it will not postpone Putin's dream.

[gab13by13]

1. Putim wants to do as you say,

but he wants to do a lot more. He doesn't just want to limit democracies from the former Soviet Union, Putin wants to destroy democracies around the world and top of the list is the United States. What he is doing in Ukraine won't stay in Ukraine.

[kentuck]

2. Yep.

He may have miscalculated? He may have thought the US and NATO are much weaker than they actually are?

[Irish_Dem]

6. Not clear at this point which side has miscalculated.

[Irish_Dem]

5. Putin's goal is to bring down the West.

And he has been doing a good job damaging western democracies. Here in the US, Trump and the GOP have assisted in this goal.

[Lovie777]

3. As if the pandemic didn't kill enough people . ..

why not start WW3. Putin + the RWers are bloody insane.

[modrepub]

4. Not Well Thought Out

This is a diversion. Me thinks the home front in Russia is very tattered at this point.

Demographics are bleak, as far as those claiming they are Russian. The USSR and the Russian Empire was made up of many different races and religions. At best the ruling class is a thin veneer applied across a wide cacophony of different elements. I don't think much has changed. War can unit a people but a long protracted struggle in a far away land can also divide it.

Putin's trying his best to keep things together. He may rule with an iron fist, but that's because he has to. Any slip up could land him in a pit riddled with bullets like the Tsar and his family.