Putin sees Ukrainian democracy as a threat, undermines his sense of the Russian mission, Stanford historian says
by Melissa De Witte
In this article, Norman Naimark, a scholar of Russian and East European history at Stanford whose current research focuses on Soviet policies and actions in Europe after World War II and on genocide and ethnic cleansing in the 20th century, discusses some of the historical and geopolitical context around Putin’s fixation on restoring a Eurasian empire.
According to Naimark, it is important to look at the history and complicated relationship between Russia and Ukraine to understand Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motivations to invade Ukraine. “For centuries, the two entities have had a complicated relationship: Russia sees Ukraine as integral to its empire, while Ukrainians frequently see themselves differently and independent from the common Eastern Slavic heritage they share, says Naimark.”