Reading Putin

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, one question has loomed large: What does Putin want? Nonfiction book critic Carlos Lozada went looking for clues in the Russian leader’s 2000 book and other writings. Today on Post Reports, he shares what he learned. 

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Reporters Siobhan O’Grady and Whitney Shefte have been reporting from the Ukrainian city of Irpin, just outside of Kyiv, where people are desperately trying to escape a Russian attack. 

As the invasion of Ukraine goes on, so many of us around the world are asking: Where is this headed? What does Russia want? Or, maybe, a better question: What does Vladimir Putin want? 

“What Putin really wants” is a perennial topic for cable news debates and big-think magazine covers; the current invasion of Ukraine has prompted questions about the Russian leader’s mental health and pandemic-era isolation. But his motives can also be gleaned in part from his book and his frequent essays and major speeches, all seething with resentment, propaganda and self-justification. In light of his writings, Carlos Lozada says, Russia’s attack on Ukraine seems less about reuniting two countries than about challenging the United States and NATO.