Putin vs. Napoleon III: Russia's Second Empire (January 2003)
Channel: Sam Vaknin's Musings
Date: 2022-02-24

Peter the Great oriented a reluctant Russia towards the West: its technologies and work ethic, if not its values. Two centuries later, Russian aristocracy was French, its military and commerce German, its monarchy half British, its culture and literature at the core of mainstream Europe. Putin is aiming to reverse all this by firewalling Russia, weaning it off its dependence on the West, and reorienting it towards Asia (from China to the Middle East). It is a gargantuan reversal.

Essay published by United Press International (UPI), Januray 2003: https://www.upi.com/Archives/2003/01/10/Commentary-Russias-Second-Empire/8411042174800/

Continued here: https://samvak.tripod.com/putin.html