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Sunday, June 12th, 2022

Restoration of empire is the endgame for Russia’s Vladimir Putin

Author:     Nathan Hodge
Source:     CNN
Publication Date:     Sat June 11, 2022 | 8:33 AM ET
 Link: Restoration of empire is the endgame for Russia’s Vladimir Putin
Stephan:   I told you the week of the invasion that there were two things going on with the war that were not being properly appreciated. (See SR archive, search on "Putin".) First, Putin is not stupid, just reptilian. You're a dictator and possibly the richest man in the world, and you know it all depends on petroleum and gas, which Europe and other nations are committing to stop using for transportation by 2035. What do you do? Why you try to take over Ukraine, of course. With it resources and grains you're economy can be revitalized. And rebuilding the country will require millions of workers and generate wealth. To make it work with the peasants you garb the whole thing in mythology, based on deep-seated religious historical-cultural thought forms. Over the past hundred days Putin has confirmed all of that, culminating in this.
Peter the Great and Vladimir Putin

Reading Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mind is rarely a straightforward task, but on occasion the Kremlin leader makes it easy.

Such was the case on Thursday, when Putin met with a group of young Russian entrepreneurs. Anyone looking for clues as to what Putin’s endgame for Ukraine might be should read the transcript, helpfully released here in English.

Putin’s words speak for themselves: What he is aiming for in Ukraine is the restoration of Russia as an imperial power.

Many observers quickly picked up on one of Putin’s more provocative lines, in which he compared himself to Peter the Great, Russia’s modernizing tsar and the founder of St. Petersburg — Putin’s own birthplace — who came to power in the late 17th century.

“Peter the Great waged the Great Northern War for 21 years,” a relaxed and apparently self-satisfied Putin said. “On the face of it, he was at war with Sweden taking something away from it… He was not taking away anything, he was returning. This is […]

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