It is not the Soviet Union that Putin would like to reconstruct - it is the Russian empire. Ukraine escaped from the Russian empire after the Great War, at the same time that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Poland did. While Ukraine was swiftly reconquered, the three Baltic states, Finland and Poland managed to remain outside until the outbreak of WW2. Finland fought off the Soviet attempt at reconquest at the expense of ceding territory and has avoided joining NATO so as not to upset Moscow. The Baltic states were not so lucky and were reconquered, only regaining their independence when the Soviet Union was dissolved. After WW2 eastern Poland was incorporated into Soviet Ukraine while the rest of Poland was forced to be a part of the Warsaw Pact - the Russian empire under another name. One of the reasons for the outbreak of the Great War was Russia's support for Serbia. While Yugoslavia under Tito had rather more independence than most European Communist states, Russian meddling after the break-up of Yugoslavia was largely in favour of Serbia and the current unrest in the Republika Srpska region of Bosnia Herzegovina has all the signs of being stirred up by Moscow. If Putin gets away with reconquering Ukraine, then prepare for further Russian meddling in the Baltic states - I would think a military coup followed by withdrawal from NATO would be the likely prelude to their reincorporation into the Russian empire. And Finland is not a NATO member...Meanwhile, the Russians continue to occupy the Kuril Islands, stolen from Japan at the end of WW2, Karelia, stolen from Finland, and Konigsberg (Kaliningrad), stolen from Germany. Putin's writings make it clear that he is an old-fashioned imperialist, wanting to regain those parts of the Russian empire lost since the end of the Soviet Union. If he succeeds in Ukraine, then he is unlikely to rest on his laurels for long.
Richard Greenhough ● 1676d