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Dmitri Alperovitch

Feb 22 • 9 tweets • 2 min read

A few thoughts on Putin, Lenin, Soviet Union and the Czars…🧵

In his speech yesterday, Putin directed a fairly large amount of hate towards Lenin for ‘creating’ the Soviet Union republics and giving them an option to quit the Union. It was quite a spectacle

And I wonder if by doing so, he is actively trying to diminish Lenin’s role in Russia’s history and, in the process, turn himself into a much more consequential historical figure in comparison

A figure that - in Putin’s eyes - has restored Russia’s glory that Lenin himself had diminished with his ‘ill-conceived’ Soviet Union constitution, which Putin believes ultimately led to its destruction

Which leads us to what is perhaps one of the most misinterpreted drivers of Putin’s ambitions. Many Russia analysts believe that he is focused on recreating the old Soviet Union

But I think it’s actually much more likely that Putin is interested in restoring (at least in part) the old Russian Empire instead

Yes, it is true that he has said on a number of occasions that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a ’genuine tragedy

But on the other hand, he has on numerous occasions harshly criticized much of the leadership of the Soviet Union - Lenin, Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev and Gorbachev - people that have led the Union for 66 out of its 69 years in existence!

And the power structure he has built in Russia does not resemble anything like the Politburo that existed in the Soviet Union days (except in the days of Stalin). He is the sole decision-maker on all issues - domestic and foreign policy. In many ways - he is the new Czar

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