Ukraine War: Vladimir Putin is a Nazi and Russians are starting to realise it – Struan Stevenson

Vladimir Putin served as a KGB foreign intelligence officer from 1985 to 1990 in Dresden, in what was then East Germany. He speaks fluent German and perhaps honed his language skills studying Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, learning the art of achieving ‘lebensraum’ (living space) from that Nazi tome.
By Struan Stevenson
Published 5th Oct 2022, 04:55 BST
 Comment
Vladimir Putin has been compared to Adolf Hitler by protesters all over the world, including these people in Tel Aviv, Israel, in March (Picture: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)Vladimir Putin has been compared to Adolf Hitler by protesters all over the world, including these people in Tel Aviv, Israel, in March (Picture: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)
Vladimir Putin has been compared to Adolf Hitler by protesters all over the world, including these people in Tel Aviv, Israel, in March (Picture: Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images)

Putin has certainly displayed his fascist talents with the annexation of four Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine following sham referendums. He has now claimed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia as parts of Russia, amounting to about 15 per cent of Ukraine and the biggest seizure of sovereign territory since the Second World War.

Of course, the Russian despot has previous when it comes to annexations. He did the same in Crimea in 2014 following a Russian invasion, occupation and another sham ballot.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And back in 2008, he annexed 20 per cent of Georgian territory when he illegally occupied the regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, both scenes of violent separatist conflicts which left thousands dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Hitler’s first annexation foray involved a terrifying encounter in his Berghof lair in the Bavarian Alps in 1938, when he bullied Kurt von Schuschnigg, the Chancellor of Austria, into signing away his country’s independence, absorbing Austria into the Third Reich.

On his return to Vienna, a deeply shaken Schuschnigg attempted to organise a plebiscite to test public opinion on whether to accept integration with Germany, but a furious Hitler immediately mobilised his forces and invaded before the vote could be held.

Buoyed by his successful annexation of Austria, Hitler turned his attention to his next objective, the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia, provoking an international crisis that culminated in Neville Chamberlain’s infamous “peace for our time” statement following the Munich Agreement. This vain attempt at appeasement ultimately paved the way for the Second World War.

Putin seems to be using Hitler’s playbook, and the West, having failed to learn the lessons of history, has seemed hellbent on repeating the same mistakes.