For twenty years, the Russian autocrat enjoyed a string of good fortune in coming to power and cementing his rule. He had raised Russia’s standing in the world. Then he invaded Ukraine.
Personally, I feel we should thank Putin for making the real challenge we face unambiguously clear. He's defining the threat the modern world faces in such a direct obvious manner that just maybe we can get it.
A year ago Europe was at peace. A single violent man ended that peace, and replaced it with a tidal wave of horror. A single violent man. With nuclear weapons.
The marriage between violent men and an accelerating knowledge explosion is unsustainable. We can have the violent men, or the knowledge explosion, but not both. That's the decision before us.
What's preventing us from facing this very simple fact is that we're burying it under a massive mountain of day to day detail. Everybody wants to be clever, sophisticated, learned, expert, advanced, an elite, a respected commentator, profitable, and these agendas require detail upon detail, complication upon complication.
But the threat the modern world faces is not complicated. It's simple.
This is a nice summary article and a timely one. I'm curious about the 1998 financial crisis and how it forced out Nemtsov. And is it still believed that Yeltsin also chose Putin because he would not divulge some of Yeltsin's skeletons in the closet? I recall reading/hearing that in one or more places. Thanks.
Thanks Brad!
Personally, I feel we should thank Putin for making the real challenge we face unambiguously clear. He's defining the threat the modern world faces in such a direct obvious manner that just maybe we can get it.
A year ago Europe was at peace. A single violent man ended that peace, and replaced it with a tidal wave of horror. A single violent man. With nuclear weapons.
The marriage between violent men and an accelerating knowledge explosion is unsustainable. We can have the violent men, or the knowledge explosion, but not both. That's the decision before us.
What's preventing us from facing this very simple fact is that we're burying it under a massive mountain of day to day detail. Everybody wants to be clever, sophisticated, learned, expert, advanced, an elite, a respected commentator, profitable, and these agendas require detail upon detail, complication upon complication.
But the threat the modern world faces is not complicated. It's simple.
We get rid of violent men, or they get rid of us.
That's what we should be learning from Putin.
Thank you for posting. It’s good to read some of the history of Putin and how he rose to power , governs, and continues to stay in power.
This is a nice summary article and a timely one. I'm curious about the 1998 financial crisis and how it forced out Nemtsov. And is it still believed that Yeltsin also chose Putin because he would not divulge some of Yeltsin's skeletons in the closet? I recall reading/hearing that in one or more places. Thanks.
I love the historical background data. Very informative.