While he wasn’t a charismatic leader at first, he soon learned how to become one. He became the people’s man. He had a vision. A vision born out of a country that suffered a crushing defeat and loss of lands, a country that was an empire that became a poor and unstable country with rising inflation and high unemployment run by oligarchs.
He quickly rose through the ranks by curing favor with the powerful who thought he was obedient and easy to control. He gained power through a negotiation where he would allow the previous ruler to avoid embarrassment. As soon as he came to power, there were a series of explosions that were blamed on a small group of terrorists who were taken out in a military operation.
After the operation, he quickly consolidated his power, creating a one-party state with state-controlled media, and journalists and opponents who were quickly found dead. He then went on a process of militarization, use of scapegoats, especially all the powers that caused the national humiliation, and quickly gained love and adoration from the nation for the military wins.
As he closed in on his goals, he built up a lot of loyal people and nations who were dependent on him for their positions and economy making it hard for them to turn on him. He managed to bring some nations into the fold without firing a shot. He then took on the nearest neighbor by taking a small piece where there were people who were also native to his country and quickly gave them passports. He then planned an operation to take the entire neighboring nation in his run to return the nation to its former glory.
Of course, I’m talking about Putin. Of course, this is also the identical story of Hitler. How we didn’t see it is beyond me. Regardless, we are in some ways better than the world of 1939, the world is united and is causing major damage economically. Furthermore, the allies of Putin are not Italy or Japan but China, Belarus, Iran, and North Korea. Which is in some way good and in some way very bad. Worse of all, Hitler didn’t have a nuclear weapon, Putin does, which allowed him to go into Ukraine, uncontested.
Like Hitler, he also doesn’t see a world without him, like Hitler he is an obsessed and paranoid mad man. God help us all.
