The policy promoted by Russian President Vladimir Putin represents the greatest threat to Europe in the post-war period. The statement belongs to the French writer and journalist, Thierry Wolton, and was made during the interview “Post-communism, a brake on the civilizational development of the world”, conducted by the IPN Press Agency. According to the historian, Vladimir Putin would have the ambition to rebuild the sphere of influence of the former Soviet Union.
Thierry Wolton explained that the Kremlin’s objective is to regain control over the former Soviet territories, and this strategy represents the main threat to European security.
“Russia wishes to regain the borders of the Soviet state. Russia’s desire to annex countries is the greatest danger happening in the Western world. Putin is the biggest danger Europe has known since Hitler. He has a will to conquer and a visceral hatred of the West. He detests the West, believes that Western values have brought down the Soviet Union,” said Thierry Wolton.
At the same time, he asserts that Vladimir Putin’s statements about the dissolution of the Soviet Union partly explain the war unleashed against Ukraine. According to Wolton, the Kremlin leader interprets the collapse of the USSR as a defeat caused by the Western world and is trying to retaliate.
“He said at the beginning of his reign, it is a reign because he has been in power for 25 years, that the collapse of the USSR is the biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century. How can you say that when this century has seen two world wars? The war in Ukraine is Putin’s desire for revenge against the West, which he considers responsible for the fall of the USSR,” said the French journalist and historian.
The video interview: “Post-communism, a brake on the world’s civilizational development” is produced by the IPN Press Agency, in partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation Romania, the Corneliu Coposu Foundation, and the Hanns Seidel Foundation Republic of Moldova.
