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![]() And while the significance of June 22 is often lost on Westerners, Russians rarely forget the Nazi invasion of their country that took place on that day back in 1941. ![]() World War II commemorations remain common nearly 80 years after that conflict ended. They routinely conduct parades and commission artworks and installations to mark historical dates. Although the decision to shed blood on these dates is Putin’s personal choice, such emphasis on anniversaries is not unusual among Russian leaders. Putin’s past actions show that he considers the dates of significant events in his life-and in the life of the former Soviet empire-as occasions meriting displays of violence. In other words, the Russian president’s statements don’t answer the question, why now? The answer to that question lies instead in biography, both of Putin and of the Soviet Union, and they are closely intertwined. None of these developments arose in late 2021 or early 2022. He needs to assert his domination now, he claims, because of the way Ukraine and Russia’s other neighbors created threats on Russian borders by joining, or cooperating closely with, the European Union, NATO, or both.Īmong the many problems with Putin’s justifications, however, is that they are not new. In his opinion-vehemently rejected by Ukrainians-Moscow has an unlimited right to dominate Kyiv, thanks to the long, tangled histories of Russians and Ukrainians. ![]() Putin himself has provided some partial justifications for why he dragged Europe backward by amassing troops on Ukraine’s border late in 2021 and then launching a major and unspeakably brutal invasion. This dizzying dislocation induces many questions: Why now? What’s coming next? And is there a way back? ![]() 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin has catapulted the world backward into a dangerous past, one characterized by localized bloodshed under the shadow of potential global nuclear confrontation. Sudden feelings of profound disruption, of panic at finding oneself in the throes of struggles seemingly past, of despair at being robbed of a promising future: These feelings have once again dawned-not in comic Cold War-era fiction but tragic post-Cold War reality. Subscribe now for unlimited access to FP, plus the print magazine. ![]() THE BACK TO THE FUTURE ISSUE: This article appears in the Summer 2022 print issue. ![]()
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