Vladimir Putin’s use of ethnicity to justify his actions in Ukraine has been widely accepted in the West but not commonly understood. That is to say, his claims that he can intervene on behalf of ethnic Russians or others that he feels are close to his “Russian world” are accepted as somehow plausible or even legitimate if the Kremlin can point to anyone in those groups who feels that he or she needs Moscow’s intervention. But what is not understood is that in virtually all cases where Putin presents himself as a defender of some group or community, the vast …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation
