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What Putin’s Past Says About Ukraine’s Future

A historian speaks on how the Russian president’s history helps explain his current mindset.

By , a former intern at Foreign Policy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a government meeting on March 15, 2004. VLADIMIR RODIONOV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia’s War in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s modus operandi in Ukraine has been grounded in an assertion of genocide taking place in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics and a claim that Ukraine shouldn’t exist.

Mary Yang is a former intern at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @MaryRanYang

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