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  1. Mar 2022
    1. The imperial dream was always there, but you know, empires are often the creation of a very small gang of people at the top. I don’t think the Russian people [are] interested in this war. I don't think that the Russian people want to conquer Ukraine or to slaughter the citizens of Kyiv.

      The interesting modern historical question is why does a small gang of authoritarian leaders seem to rise up to the top and take over Russia? Is there some fundamental lesson that the people of Russia have not yet learned that creates this atmosphere of enabling authoritarianism? Yeltsin tried but it failed and this vacuum created the space for the opportunity Putin to step in. The danger of failed democracy is authoritarianism waiting in the wings.