World News

Over the past 25 years, the world has bent to the vision of one man. In the course of a generation, he not only short-circuited the transition to democracy in his own country, and in neighboring countries, but set in motion a chain of events that has shattered the transatlantic order that prevailed after World War II. In the global turn against democracy, he has played, at times, the role of figurehead, impish provocateur, and field marshal. We are living in the Age of Vladimir Putin.

What this ridiculous "great man theory" style analysis tells me is that even in decline, they refuse to take responsibility for anything. They tried to have total control over Russia and couldn't, tried to encroach on it and overextended in the effort, and now they're acting like it was a grand game of chess they were outplayed on instead of the material conditions on the ground. Infantile reductionist framing of complicated factors involving many countries.