Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently is a very patient man. Having taken over the Crimean Peninsula, his gradual conquest of Ukraine is proceeding, albeit at an uncertain pace.
The Russian-backed insurgent forces have been suffering one defeat after another this summer. The Ukraine government’s forces have closed in on their strongholds in the southeastern cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, inflicting significant losses. But Putin’s investment – both personal and political – demands that he not let Ukraine remain free.
Putin would be a fascinating study for a psychological profile. According to The Man Without a Face, by Russian-American writer Masha Gessen, which is nearly such a study, Putin was raised in near-poverty in a tough neighborhood. From an early age, he was a bare-knuckle brawler. At about age 16, Putin went to the KGB building in Leningrad and tried to join. He was told to go to law school or join the military. From then on, his life became a gradual but somehow guaranteed success.
He was a mediocre student but was able to get into Leningrad State University, a very exclusive school, perhaps because the KGB made it happen. He joined the KGB formally and gradually rose in the Soviet pecking order. The Soviet Union fell, but Putin kept rising. His loyalty to the KGB was consistent and so was its loyalty to him.
Putin’s conduct since becoming Russia’s president reveals his ruthlessness and eagerness to return the nation to the position of strength the Soviet Union once held. His worldview may have best been summarized in a 2005 speech to top Russian politicians in which he said, “Above all, we should acknowledge that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a major geopolitical disaster of the century.” Now, Ukraine is feeling the full effect of that belief.
Putin has pushed a Russian supply convoy into Ukraine despite the Kiev government’s objections. Whatever its cargo, part or all of it must have been aimed at resupplying the Russian insurgents. Another such convoy is reportedly on the way. Only days ago, Russian troops and artillery moved across the Ukraine border and fired on Ukrainian forces. Though these moves have been condemned by NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, no NATO member, including the United States, has done anything to slow the Russian advance.