There is this former KGB agent, stationed in Germany, who later led the Russian secret service FSB before rising to the top as President of Russia: Vladimir Putin (*1952). He has his agents run around Europe killing and trying to kill people, e.g. in London and Berlin. And he gets away with it.
In 2014, he could annex Crimea, organize a “civil war” in Eastern Ukraine by supporting “separatist” forces in Luhansk and Donetsk with a death toll of over 13,000 people until 2020. And he can get away with it.
When the U.S. President Obama had the Syrian dictator Assad cross red lines without sanctions, Putin stepped in and managed to stabilize the Assad regime, responsible for the use of chemical weapons and other war crimes and decades of torture. The “cost” of Putin’s action and Obama’s inaction: over 11 millions refugees and internally displaced people. And Putin got away with it.
Putin managed to stabilize Russia after the Yeltsin years (1991-99), which ended in a political and economic crisis. He nationalized key companies, notably in the oil and gas sector and/or put people of confidence (largely from the secret service and military) in key positions in government and the economy (private and state owned). In short, the Siloviki took over Russia.
Russian politics have become a farce. There have not been free and fair elections in Russia for many years. And Putin got away with it. Important businessmen (mostly shady themselves), journalists, political activists and politicians who opposed the regime ended up in prison, in exile or in a coffin.
The latest famous victim is Alexei Navalny (*1976). In the 2013 Moscow mayoral election, he had finished second with 27%. Since that (relative) success, Putin’s regime never allowed him to run for office again. Nevertheless, over the years, Navalny managed to become the leading opposition figure and a feared anti-corruption fighter whose articles and videos draw wide attention. His 2017 video about then prime minister Dmitry Medvedev was a huge success and led to protests. In “He Is Not Dimon To You”, Navalny alleged that Medvedev had embezzled $1.2 billion.
In August 2020, Alexei Navalny was the victim of a Novichok attack most likely ordered by Putin himself; it would be more worrying for the world and Putin himself if the Kremlin was not behind the failed killing attempt. Navalny survived notably thanks to care in a Berlin hospital. Upon his return to Russia in January 2021, he was imprisoned based on a bogus accusation of fraud. Navalny responded with a video about “Putin’s Palace” on the Black Sea. And Putin seems to be able to get away with it again.
The democracies of this world have to get their act together. Dictators and their regimes such as Vladimir Putin in Russia and Xi Jinping in CCP China take advantage of our weaknesses. The election of Joe Biden as President of the United States offers the perfect starting point for a reset in international relations. It is time to take the gloves off in a coordinated response to the strongmen of this world. They have to know that you can’t get away with anything.
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Putin in 2018. Президент России Владимир Путин во время интервью журналисту американского телеканала NBC Мегин Келли. Photo copyright: www.kremlin.ru (found via Wikipedia/Wikimedia Commons).
Article added on February 4, 2021 at 20:15 German time. Detail added at 20:32.
