"Nobody and nothing will stop Russia..."
-- Vladimir Putin
In March of 2014 Russia invaded Ukraine, unleashing a maddening flurry of concern across the world. Originally the concern was how to defend Crimea Ukraine from Putin’s forces, however, the concern has since changed. Seemingly overnight, Putin managed to worm his troops into Crimea, and dominate part of Ukraine. But where does this expansion of power end? Trying to delegate and monitor a power-hungry politician is now the focus of nearly every government in the Western world. In an article written by The Guardian’s Ian Traynor, it states that Putin has declared that if he wanted to, “Russian forces could conquer Ukrainian capital in two weeks.” This amount of confidence is highly unnerving considering Russia’s track record on simply showing up and invading a country seemingly out of nowhere. That specific action and behavior has been associated with Russian leader Joseph Stalin during the Cold war, and now is a continuous and growing concern with Vladimir Putin.
Vladimir Putin’s aggressive actions toward the western world, specifically Ukraine, is inspired by the steps Joseph Stalin took during his rise to power by developing a cult mentality, using brute force to invade countries such as Greece and Turkey, and issuing threats to all countries who disagreed with his expansion of power and communism during the Cold War. It was Stalin’s increasing aggression towards Europe and the United during the Cold War that made him one of the most feared and unpredictable individuals at that time. Today, Putin is exhibiting identical behavior by following in Stalin’s footsteps and is issuing threats in addition to ignoring what Europe and the United States has to say.
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Insightfulness is a key trait of President Putin. His understanding of the neoconservative foreign policy of the United States has led him to the conclusion that watching another legitimate government fall at the hands of CIA backed terrorists is a crime which must be
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...h case the government will be more inclined to respond to it because of this (Robinson 1-2). With Crimea now part of Russia, perhaps the people of Ukraine can have some self-determined actions.
Historical precedents show that that Putin may be on a similar path as dictators in the past. Putin already has the propaganda machine necessary, and has even made many Eastern Ukrainian citizens in territory occupied by Russian separatists believe that their government is comprised of neo-Nazis who seek to massacre its people. According to The Independent, a British nespaper, Putin has even awarded the prestigious “Order of Service to the Fatherland” medal to more than 300 journalists for their “objective coverage” of the Crimea crisis, showing how Russian state propaganda is becoming more and more of a formalized proce...
Focusing on Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, it suggests that he sought a fundamental transformation of the geopolitical structure of the Cold War. Realizing that the continuation of an uneasy truce with the West would be unproductive for both sides, Gorbachev pursued a peaceful program of foreign relations. To that end, he sought to end the division of Europe and to move U.S.-Soviet relations from antagonism to strategic partnership. An integral part of this strategy included the withdrawal of coercive Soviet power from Eastern Europe. Hoping to retain influence or at least “friendly” governments in the region, Gorbachev wanted to ensure Soviet security without preserving a pillar of contentious relations with the West. The “velvet revolutions” were necessary for his success
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This war has given rise to a huge influx of racial hatred that has again helped Putin. Because the majority of the Chechen’s are Muslim, and not of the same ethnic background as Russians, racial discrimination has helped to boost the wars popularity and subsequently Putins. The security of oil in the southern Caucasus states and its transportation routes are the main influential factors in the...