Decryption

Vladimir Putin: a lonely man at the head of the Kremlin?

Audio 7:30 p.m.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, December 23, 2021. (Illustration).

AFP - NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA

By: Anne Corpet Follow

1 min

The offensive in Ukraine is Russia's sixth direct military intervention outside its borders since Vladimir Putin came to power.

Each time, he demonized his enemies, justified his interventions by supposed threats.

The head of the Kremlin acts as if he were guided only by an obsession: to restore the image of eternal Russia, to rebuild a lost empire.  

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By invading Ukraine, Vladimir Putin bet on the inertia, the disunity of the Western powers.

He seemed confident that the war could be quickly won.

But the man, portrayed as a cold calculator, the chess player, seems caught out: he comes up against unexpected resistance from the Ukrainians and the West opposes sanctions of an unprecedented magnitude.

Lack of discernment?

Errors of assessment?

Who advises Vladimir Putin today?

Is the master of the Kremlin isolated? 

Decryption with: 

Lukas Aubin,

associate researcher at IRIS, specialist in the geopolitics of Russia, author of 

.

A program prepared by Anne Corpet, Sigrid Azeroual and Simon Carteret. 

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• Russia

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• Vladimir Poutine

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