Tuesday, July 19, 2022

Opinion Today: Inside Vladimir Putin’s “strategic Russian doll”

One expert explains that the Russian president's plans stretch far beyond Ukraine.
Author Headshot

By Tim Schneider

Staff Editor, Opinion

146.

That's the number of days that have passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. Over the past five months, the world has witnessed a war of terrible brutality: Civilians have been attacked, hospitals bombed, lives extinguished. The cost — civilian and military — is incalculable.

In the face of such horror, it's sometimes hard to get a grasp on what's happening day to day. The sheer duration of the war and its attritional nature — an advance here, a reversal there — can make it difficult to follow. But the outline is clear enough. In Ukraine's east, Russian forces, in effective control of Luhansk, have turned their attention to the neighboring Donetsk. In the south, where Russia made early inroads, the Ukrainians have mounted some successful counterattacks. The two sides now seem to be locked in a deadly stalemate.

To Vladimir Putin, this is exactly as it should be. According to Tatiana Stanovaya, an expert on Russian politics who wrote a guest essay for Times Opinion this week, the Kremlin appears to believe that everything is going according to plan. The goal is to secure control over Ukraine's east and the land corridor to Crimea, something that Russian advances suggest could be well within reach.

But Putin's aims go far beyond that. In Stanovaya's telling, informed by two decades spent closely observing the president, they extend to the future of the Ukrainian state and Russia's relations with the West. The plan, as Stanovaya puts it, is a "strategic Russian doll" whose ultimate purpose is to bring about "a new world order."

Such grand imaginings, however fanciful, feel very far away from the front lines. But in connecting the two, Stanovaya shows how the battles being waged in the towns and villages of Ukraine could hold the key to a radically different world.

ADVERTISEMENT

A Times Event: What will post-Roe medical care look like? The Opinion podcast host Lulu Garcia-Navarro explores the future of reproductive health care in a virtual event on July 21 at 4 p.m. E.D.T. You'll hear from health care providers in states where abortion is or could soon be banned and have your questions answered by medical and legal experts. R.S.V.P. here.

Here's what we're focusing on today:

ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe Today

New York Times Opinion curates a wide range of views, inviting rich discussion and debate that helps readers analyze the world. This work is made possible with the support of subscribers. Please consider subscribing to The Times with this special offer.

ADVERTISEMENT

Games Here is today's Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. If you're in the mood to play more, find all our games here.

Forward this newsletter to friends to share ideas and perspectives that will help inform their lives. They can sign up here. Do you have feedback? Email us at opiniontoday@nytimes.com.

Contact us if you have questions about your Times account, delivery problems or other issues, visit our Help Page or contact The Times.

Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance.

You received this email because you signed up for the Opinion Today newsletter from The New York Times.

To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences.

Subscribe to The Times

Connect with us on:

facebooktwitterinstagram

Change Your EmailPrivacy PolicyContact UsCalifornia Notices

LiveIntent LogoAdChoices Logo

The New York Times Company. 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018

No comments:

Post a Comment