Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 2022
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, June 2022
Contributor / Getty Images

Vladimir Putin is determined to shape the future to look like his version of the past. Russia’s president invaded Ukraine not because he felt threatened by NATO expansion or by Western “provocations.” He ordered his “special military operation” because he believes that it is Russia’s divine right to rule Ukraine, to wipe out the country’s national identity, and to integrate its people into a Greater Russia.