Emperor Putin: Jingoism on the March

There is no doubt that Vladimir Putin's vision of Russia in the 21st century centres on an expansionary policy reminiscent of the Soviet Union after World War 2.  He knows the war -weary West wants no more entanglements like Iraq and Afghanistan.  He issues Russian passports to ethnic Russians in foreign countries to give them dual citizenship - and then on the pretense of protection, occupies foreign territory-  witness Crimea now and Georgia in 2008 when 10,000 Russian soldiers occupied 20% of the country, and have remained ever since (shades of Hitler's occupation of the
 Sudetenland in 1938 and the subsequent invasion of the rest of Czechoslovakia).  Emperor Putin stares down the West at every turn.

What are the future implications of Putin's bully tactics.  First, I speculate that he wants to boost Russian influence and control of the Arctic.  Huge oil and gas deposits are the prize, as well as the expanding sea-lanes

 which result from ice reduction and better ship technology.  Secondly, he will use money and ethnic Russians to win Kremlin-friendly governments on Russia's borders.  Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are obvious targets.  Other countries in the old Soviet bloc must have similar worries.

Which brings us back to Ukraine.  True, the situation there is chaotic and very difficult to understand.  Are the referenda a true reflection of the will of the people or are they rigged?  How rife is corruption?  Has the government lost control?  But one thing is clear.  Vladimir Putin threatens a fundamental principle of international law:  sovereign countries have the right to sort out their internal problems without foreign interference.  In effect, he is saying that the protection of ethnic Russians is not the responsibility of the country in which they live.  It is Russia's right and duty to step in, bypass elected governments, ignore domestic laws and courts and trample on the rights of the majority - all in the name of justice.  Imagine the international chaos if other powerful nations adopted his brand of jingoism!  International laws were designed to ensure peace.  They may not be perfect but for world security, they must be respected.  Putin, like Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin must be stopped now.