Public Comment

The insanity and humiliation of Vladimir Putin, the former K.G.B. officer, has been festering ever since the collapse of the former Soviet empire. Buoyed by the sweeping success of Crimea where hardly a shot was fired, the messianic Putin made the tragic mistake of invading Ukraine shocking the world by its utter brutality but encountering a fierce opposition. Putin, 67, has run Russia, as president and prime minister, for 21 years, a feat surpassed only by Joseph Stalin. He is surrounded by highly corrupt political cronies who have used their enormous wealth and privilege to enjoy high-end European perks with massive real-estate investments. On the home front, Putin has repressed free speech with utter brutality. To quell any form of opposition the ex-KGB spy has amassed a terrifying array of assassination tools. Unfortunately, Putin has grossly mismanaged the economy which is in terrible shape suffering from chronic capital light. One eye-popping investment of $390bn was a major failure. 

Trapped and cornered, Putin spun a nuclear nightmare threatening the nuclear option which would devastate Europe and much of the world. Ukraine is also vulnerable to a nuclear meltdown from one or more of its four nuclear reactors which delivers 55% of its energy. Let us hope the incredible courageous people of Ukraine to defend their country will not be in vain.