Putin, the Assassin — What You Need to Know

When US President, Joe Biden, said that Vladimir Putin was “a killer,” in 2021, people across the political spectrum exploded with heated criticism.

“How dare he destabilize global order by provoking Putin in such a way?” critics claimed.

When Barack Obama “humbled” Putin by claiming that Russia is a “regional power,” Putin retaliated by involving Russia in the Syrian Civil War (there were other reasons for Putin’s involvement in Syria, of course).

And, sure, Europe has been relatively peaceful apart from (1) the Bosnian War (1992–1995), and the killing that followed the conflict, which claimed more than 100,000 lives; and (2) the Russo-Ukrainian war prior to 2022, claimed more than 10,000 lives (since 2022, estimates vary but likely exceed 200,000 on both sides).

Putin changed the relatively peaceful trajectory Europe was on. So, yes, he is a killer. That much is also seen from his dealing with political dissidents and opposition.

Let me explain.

Photo by Nik on Unsplash

It’s easy to look back and explain how everything happened. We are all much smarter as historians. Indeed, Putin showed a lot of signs of an aggressor.

Prior to 2022, very few could have predicted Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.