Saying that Putin is corrupt, thuggish, anti-democratic, and authoritarian is an uncontroversial statement. Like all corrupt, thuggish, anti-democratic and authoritarian political figures, he cements his hold on power by suppressing internal opposition. However, wielding terror is often not enough to secure power. One must offer something in return to ensure the obedience of your followers and subjects. What is it that he is offering?

For the oligarchs and his cronies in the government, Putin ensures a continuation of the corrupt practices that have allowed them to amass fortunes. Moreover, as long as they support the regime, their wealth and family remain outside the predatory reach of the government.

To the subjects of the regime, Putin is offering a modicum of Western materialism. He is also enticing them with a nationalistic narrative that he hopes will resonate. He is betting that the traditional stoic attitude of the Russian masses to endure whatever is imposed on them from above for the survival and restoration of the Motherland remains. To a Western ear it may sound antiquated, but to many Russians this romantic notion of themselves as a people who will endure untold suffering for the sake of their nation is deeply rooted in their psyche. The trick for Putin is to harness it.

Putin’s idea was to inspire Russians with the idea of restoring a Greater Russia which entailed bringing Ukraine back into the fold. If bringing the whole of Ukraine was impractical then at least the Russian-speaking regions of Donbas and Crimea should be annexed. Does it sound like a far-fetched idea to sell to the Russian people?

I recall that another young nation, when faced with the prospect of accepting less than continental hegemony, went to the extreme of sacrificing two percent of its population to restore a rebellious region to the union. That would be equivalent on a per capita basis to Putin throwing three million soldiers into the wood-chipper. Moreover, that young nation, over a hundred and fifty years later, mythologizes its victory over the vanquished secessionists and celebrates the memory of the political leader who prosecuted the war to its bloody conclusion with a holiday and a grand memorial in the shadow of the country’s capital rotunda.

I don’t mean to compare Putin with Lincoln. The character of the two men were worlds apart. My intent is only to highlight the role that nationalism might play in motivating the Russian people to continue to accept the war in Ukraine.

Image: Cathy Rowe, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, unaltered.