As an American who spends half of each year in Ukraine, I’m regularly reminded of what President Vladimir Putin calls “Russkiy Mir” or the Russian World, a hyper-nationalistic concept of his country as a dominant global force, ideologically, culturally, and militarily. Odesa, where I live, is a place where nearly everyone speaks Russian, and until recently many of the city’s main streets were named after illustrious Russians like Catherine the Great and Pushkin.
Today, however, Russia’s influence arrives exclusively in explosive form – mainly large drones and ballistic missiles that blow up the power grid, kill civilians, and foster an intense hatred for the country that launches them.
Confusingly, President Trump makes no secret of his admiration for Putin, labeling the Russian leader “smart,” “savvy,” and a “genius.” He is not alone. Since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a chorus of Western pundits and politicians, usually from the far right or extreme left, have eagerly rationalized Putin’s brutality. From Tucker Carlson to Nigel Farage to Jeffrey Sachs, the despot has never had trouble finding useful idiots to promote fantasies of Russian greatness, its alleged victimization by the West, and the inherent superiority of “strong man” leadership over democracy.
A look at the facts paints a different picture. Putin is, without question, the most damaging ruler of Russia since the incompetent Tsar Nicholas II. Strip away the Kremlin’s propaganda, and it becomes clear that he has so dramatically mishandled the war in Ukraine that his country will pay a heavy price for decades.
In February 2022, Putin sent tanks across the border, claiming to save Russian speakers from “genocide” and to topple a “neo-Nazi regime” led by Ukraine’s Jewish President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Kremlin planned to seize Kyiv within three days. Nearly four years later, the “great leader’s” gamble has resulted in a series of catastrophic failures.
Far from being a low-cost operation, Putin’s army has suffered an estimated 1.2 million casualties – dead, wounded, and missing – according to British intelligence. This does not account for an army of traumatized soldiers returning to a society already facing a demographic crisis. Hundreds of murders and robberies have been attributed to ex-servicemen returning from the front. Even more damaging, Putin has sacrificed the youth of a nation that was already in a steep demographic decline to satisfy his own delusions.
Simultaneously, Russia has suffered a massive “brain drain.” Hundreds of thousands of its best and brightest – university-educated experts and urbanites – have fled to Georgia, Armenia, and Turkey to avoid this inane war. This loss of intellectual capital will be exploited by other nations to Russia’s long-term detriment.
A nation once justly proud of its artistry is now better known for terror than for Tolstoy.
Geopolitically, Putin has achieved the opposite of his goals. One of his greatest errors was revitalizing NATO. In 2023 and 2024, Finland and Sweden joined the alliance, doubling Russia’s border with NATO and turning the Baltic Sea into a “NATO lake.” Furthermore, much of Western Europe has now re-energized its arms industry and is increasing military readiness to levels not seen in decades.
Russia’s influence in its “near abroad” has also collapsed. Relations with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan are tense. In a historic first, the leaders of all five Central Asian nations recently met with President Trump. Armenia has turned its back on Moscow, and Moldova is looking firmly toward the West. Even Russian arms exports, once a vital source of foreign exchange, have cratered following the poor performance of Russian hardware on the battlefield.
Domestically, the economic cracks are widening. Russia is burning through its National Wealth Fund. As Washington and Brussels tighten sanctions, fewer countries are willing to buy Russian oil and gas. Interest rates and corporate bankruptcies are skyrocketing.
Most worrying for Russia’s long-term sovereignty is Putin’s willingness to mortgage the country’s future to an increasingly bellicose China. While Putin and Xi Jinping pledge “eternal friendship,” there is no doubt who is the senior partner. China’s GDP is 7.5 times larger than Russia’s, and its technical prowess is vastly superior. Some in Russia even fear that China is laying the groundwork to retake territories in Outer Manchuria lost to Russia in the 19th century.
Putin’s mad march on Kyiv was driven by a desire to restore Russian greatness and distinguish it from the “degenerate” West. Ironically, he has only succeeded in making his country’s name synonymous with barbarism and butchery. A nation once justly proud of its artistry is now better known for terror than for Tolstoy. Russia’s “master strategist” has not saved his country; he has doomed it.
The views expressed in this opinion article are the author’s and not necessarily those of Kyiv Post.