Rachel Maddow returned from her hiatus and explained why Putin, who has run Russia into the ground, invaded the blossoming democracy in Ukraine.
Video:
#Maddow explains the real reason why Putin invaded Ukraine, " he also just cannot let any country near him work. Work in a way that may indicate to the Russian people that they too ought to expect their country and their government to work for them." pic.twitter.com/cn8PWg8yxz
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 25, 2022
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Maddow said:
If you are the kleptocratic dictator sitting on top of a country if that you were keeping poor and backward with no plans to do more than that for another few decades, how would you feel about a vague and culturally similar neighboring country where your population and your country had lots of family ties, lots of reason to identify with one another. And in that large, culturally similar neighboring country, they recently threw out the pro-Russia puppet later that you had installed there.Â
They took economic steps to ally themselves with Europe more than with you. They then elected, by a huge margin, a popular, Russian-speaking guy who wants ties with the West and Europe and the United States. A new, young, charismatic leader who has said that the night that he was elected, that everyone in the former Soviet states should look at his election and know that anything is possible, that anything is possible. Even in the former Soviet world, thanks to democracy.Â
How does that look to you if you are Vladimir Putin? From the corner that Vladimir Putin has painted himself into, in the country has ruined, the threat posed by a free, democratic, western minded and modern Ukraine, that is like a skeleton hand that might grab you by the ankles if you let your foot drift too far off the edge of the bed at night.Â
And yes, it is true, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin has delusions about being a new czar and remaking the Russian empire and reconstituting the USSR. Fine. But also, outside of the fairytale books, he also just cannot let any country near him work. Work in a way that may indicate to the Russian people that they too ought to expect their country and their government to work for them. He needs his neighboring countries to be dependent on him, to be corrupt, and to be fundamentally disappointing to their people.
Putin Invaded Ukraine Out Of Weakness
Putin did not invade Ukraine out of strength. Experts say the Russian leader has no endgame for the invasion of Ukraine. Putin invaded Ukraine because he felt threatened.
He was scared that the Russian people would look at their growing democratic neighbor and ask themselves, why can’t we have that here?
Putin’s invasion isn’t a sign of strength. It is an omen of weakness and failure.
All dictators and autocrats lash out with force as their grasp on power begins to slide away.
Putin isn’t fooling anyone.
He is using an invasion to hide his failure and weakness.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
