Putin‘s dream is unraveling
Some people look forward and ask themselves what they want to create, improve or modernize. Some, on the other hand, look backwards driven by resentment, grievances, nostalgia and a deep sense of loss.
Putin never attempted to improve the lives of ordinary Russians simply for the sake of making life freer, more prosperous and safer for the citizens of the Russian Federation. He‘s been a man driven by an alluring dream, the creation of an ever greater empire with him as the imperial necromancer who would accomplish a feat that no one else but he himself could. To bring back a lost empire and with it a deceased great power status back from the dead.
The dream of the conquerer has emboldened many men throughout history. The legendary ambitions of Alexander, Caesar, Genghis Khan or Peter the Great have changed the course of history. But what if the extent of the conquerer‘s ambitions and the actual power of his nation relative to the nations that oppose him simply don‘t match?
It’s an intriguing question and it should be directed at Slobodan Milosovic, the man who thought he could recreate Yugoslavia, Saddam Hussein, the man who thought he could defeat Iran, conquer Kuwait and outplay the United States, Bashar al Assad, who thought he could re-conquer an atomized Syrian state after causing its disintegration, Yahya Sinwar, the man who thought he could bring Israel to its knees, or perhaps Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolf Hitler, Napoleon, Mussolini or Tojo.
Putin never attempted to improve the lives of ordinary Russians simply for the sake of making life freer, more prosperous and safer for the citizens of the Russian Federation. He‘s been a man driven by an alluring dream, the creation of an ever greater empire with him as the imperial necromancer who would accomplish a feat that no one else but he himself could. To bring back a lost empire and with it a deceased great power status back from the dead.
The dream of the conquerer has emboldened many men throughout history. The legendary ambitions of Alexander, Caesar, Genghis Khan or Peter the Great have changed the course of history. But what if the extent of the conquerer‘s ambitions and the actual power of his nation relative to the nations that oppose him simply don‘t match?
It’s an intriguing question and it should be directed at Slobodan Milosovic, the man who thought he could recreate Yugoslavia, Saddam Hussein, the man who thought he could defeat Iran, conquer Kuwait and outplay the United States, Bashar al Assad, who thought he could re-conquer an atomized Syrian state after causing its disintegration, Yahya Sinwar, the man who thought he could bring Israel to its knees, or perhaps Kaiser Wilhelm, Adolf Hitler, Napoleon, Mussolini or Tojo.
