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(And see “Russia” and “Ukraine” in the index)

  1. Putin “The West’s Putin Test” [Russian stocks back to levels before [Russia] grabbed Crimea] 6-30-14
  2. Putin “The Real Putin” [Samantha Power says what Obama won’t about the Russian Threat] 7-19-14
  3. Putin Has Exposed Europe’s Cracks
  4. Putin Makes His Move. [His forces intervene to grab another chunk of Ukraine.] 8-23-14
  5. Putin Marches Ahead. [He plays Merkel and Obama for naifs as he grabs more of Ukraine.] 8-29-14
  6. Putin. “A Putinesque Cease-fire.” [After grabbing more of Ukraine, he bids to stop …sanctions.] 9-4-14
  7. Putin. “End to the Putin Puzzle?” by Holman Jenkins, Jr. [5th column in years on same subject] 7-23-14
  8. Putin. “The Downing of MH17” [Putin is the one leader who quickly assigned blame…] 7-18-14
  9. Putin. “The Putin Test for Obama in Ukraine” by Wm. Galston   7-30-14
  10. Putin. “The West Forgets History. Putin Repeats It” by Matthew Kaminski   8-26-14
  11. Putin. Seeing Putin Plain, by Bret Stephens [Russia as U.S. enemy]   7-22-14
  12. Putin. The West’s ‘Moment of Truth” [Will … leaders finally act to stop Putin’s aggression?] 7-22-14
  13. Putin: An Air disaster a Long time in the Making by Matthew Kaminski   7-19-14
  14. Putin’s Campaign Continues – So Does Ukraine’s 8-8-14
  15. Putin’s Costs Grow. 7-30-14
  16. Putin’s Measure of Obama. [Russian missiles, tanks… keep coming over the Ukraine border.] 7-24-14
  17. Putin Targets the Baltics to Discredit NATO. By Edward Lucas. [The Kremlin strategy of ‘hybrid warfare’ is already under way. And the West is woefully unprepared.]   9-22-14
  18. Putin. “Gangsters’ Paradise.” Book review by Anna Arutunyan of “Putin’s Kleptocracy,” by Karen Dawisha. [Many major businesses that sprouted up in Russia in the early 1990s had the help of former KGB officers – and their money.] 10-1-2014
  19. Putin: “Angela Merkel’s Putin Problem.” [Hoping a shaky cease-fire holds in Ukraine, because backup plans are scarce.] by Matthew Kaminski.   10-3-14
  20. Putin. “An enticing Next Target for Putin.” By Josh Gelernter. [Moscow is turning up the rhetoric on Kazakhstan, a non-NATO member with a valuable space center.]   10-8-2014
  21. Putin Tries to Undo the Tragedy of the Berlin Wall’s Fall. By Andrew Nagorski. [The former KGB officer’s campaign to rebuild the lost Soviet Union is racing against the ruble’ collapse.] 11-8-14
  22. Putin. “Back to the Putin Front.” [Russia moves again on Ukraine, while the West professes surprise.] 11-14-14
  23. Putin. “The Putin Body Count.” [Executions, torture and criminality are new norm in Russian-held Ukraine.] 11-21-14
  24. Putin. “Ruble Crisis Shows the Real Putin.” By Holman Jenkins, Jr. […Mr. Putin’s primary aim is to stay in charge of the corruption banquet in order to avoid an opposition coming to power under which, at best, he’d spend the rest of his life in jail…] 12-17-14
  25. Putin. “The Siege of Mariupol.” [Putin figures he can grab more territory and then talk the West down..] 1-29-15
  26. Putin. “Putin’s Shaky Hold on Power.” By David Satter. [Russia’s flagging economy and growing discord over the war in Ukraine are converging to destabilize the regime.] 2-4-15
  27. Putin. Book review of The Putin Mystique by Anna Arutunyan: “Tsar Power” by Andrew Stuttaford. [To understand Putin’s power, it is essential to consider the millions of Russians who have molded him ‘into a sort of sacred king.’] 2-12-15
  28. Putin is Effective and Knows Exactly What He’s Doing.” LTE. 2-28-15
  29. Putin. “Putin’s Survival Strategy.” By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. [Russia’s president clearly seems to be lifting strategies from the Hitler playbook, likely deliberately so.] 6-6-15
  30. Putin. “How to Take Down Putin.” By Bret Stephens. 6-9-15
  31. Putin. “Putin Opens an Arctic Front in the New Cold War.” By Sohrab Ahmari. [Russia’s military exercises in the region can only be an attempt to provoke.] 6-12-15
  32. Putin. Book reviews: “Russian Roulette.” By Edward Lucas on: “Putinism” by Walter Laqueur. “Putin’s Russia.” Edited by Leon Aron. [The regime has replaced institutions with one-man rule and treats criticism as treason. But it could get even worse.] 8-17-15
  33. Putin. “Putin’s Syria Tour de Force.” [Before: Russia is ‘doomed to fail.’ Now: Obama is happy to talk.] 9-21-15
  34. Putin. “Putin Is on a Syria Roll.” [His arms gambit wins a meeting with Obama in New York. Oh-oh. ] 9-25-15
  35. Putin. LTE. “Putin’s Long-Term Game in the Middle East.” 9-28-15
  36. Putin. “Putin Takes a Victory Lap While Obama Watches.” By Gary Kasparov. [More chaos in Syria suits the Russian president just fine. Higher oil prices will please Moscow and Tehran.] 9-30-15
  37. Congress. “Congress Can Respond to Putin With More Sanctions.” By Paula J. Dobriansky and David B. Rivkin Fr. [Obama complains about Putin but does nothing. Here’s another way to squeeze him back home.] 10-5-15
  38. Putin. “Russia’s Snarling Stuntman.” [Bookshelf, book review by Stephen Kotkin: “The New Tsar” by Steven Lee Myers} [Russia is declining, with talent and capital in full flight. Yet despite this wretched hand, Vladimir Putin is trumping the West.] 10-6-15
  39. Putin. “Turkey’s Warning Shot.” [Putin may be testing NATO’s resolve, and the Turks need U.S. support.] 11-25-15
  40. Putin. “The Kremlin’s London Hit Squad.” [Recommended reading for Donald Trump on Vladimir Putin.] 1-22-16
  41. Putin. “Is the West’s Putin Silence Over?” by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. 1-23-16
  42. Putin. “Putin’s Infowar on America.”  By L. Gordon Crovitz.  [The DNC leaks were another Russian victory as the U.S. fails to fight back.]  8-1-16
  43. Putin. “The Putin-Erdogan Entente.”  [The Kremlin tries to expand its Middle East influence.]  8-11-16
  44. Putin. “Putin’s August surprise.”  [The Russian invents a pretext in Crimea to pull out of peace talks.]  8-12-16
  45. Putin. LTE.  “Late Discovery that Putin Is Not Our Friend.”  10-14-16
  46. Putin. “How I Learned to Love Putin”  by Bret Stephens.”  [The Russian’s methods would make Macbeth blush and Richard III smile.]  12-13-16
  47. Putin. “#TheRealValdimirPutin.” By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. [The era of covering up may at last be coming to an end in Western relations with Russia.] 2-8-17
  48. Putin. “What’s Behind the Putin Fantasies.” By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. [Donald Trump never found much of a seat on the U.S.-Russia business express.] 3-1-17
  49. Putin. “Trump Must Stand Strong Against Putin.”  By David Satter.  [The president needs to show that the U.S. is prepared to deter Russian aggression.]  7-7-17
  50. Putin. “Putin Is Not America’s Friend.”  [Rex Tillerson sounds like John Kerry on Russia and Syria.]  7-10-17
  51. Putin. “When Donald Met Vlad.”  [We’ll learn what Putin thinks of Trump by what he tries to get away with.]  7-8-17
  52. Putin. “Putin’s Goal:  Revenge and Restoration.”  By Leon Aron.  [What ties hacking and election meddling to Syria and Ukraine?  A nostalgia for Soviet-era power.]  8-9-17
  53. Putin. “Putting’s Next Six Years.” [The very model of a modern authoritarian election.] 3-19-18
  54. Putin. “Toothless Gestures Won’t Stop Putin.” By Walter Russell Mead. [While Washington dreamed of an orderly world, revisionist powers upended it.] 3-20-18
  55. Putin. “Why Trump Never Speaks Ill of Putin.” By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.  [And why Obama CIA chief John Brennan may have a few things to hide himself.] 3-24-18
  56. Putin. “The Spies Who Went Back to the Cold.” [Putin won’t change until the West targets the cash of Kremlin cronies.] 3-27-18
  57. Putin.  “From Russia With No Love Lost.”  (The Weekend Interview with Bill Browder by Tunku Varadarajan)  [The anti-Putin crusader on his disillusionment with Moscow’s leader and his tangles with the man behind the Trump dossier.]  5-12-18
  58. Putin. “Putin’s Confliction Zone.” [“…Mr. Putin has been watching all this and wondering if Mr. Trump can be conned as easily and as often as Barack Obama was.] 6-29-18
  59. Putin. “What Putin Wants From Trump.” [The U.S. President wants better relations. The price will be high.] 7-13-18
  60. Putin. “Summing Up A Summit Partner.” (Bookshelf by Joshua Rubenstein.) “The Code of Putinism.” By Brian D. Taylor. [Upon taking control, Vladimir Putin began to rein in Russia’s independent civil society and discourage free expression and pluralism.] 7-16-18
  61. Putin. “Putin’s Aggression Is the Issue in Helsinki.” By David Satter. [Trump shouldn’t make a deal on Syria or Ukraine, or keep silent on Russia’s crimes against the West.] 7-16-18
  62. Putin.  “Donald Trump, Meet Bill Browder.”  [Putin wants Trump to help silence the man who was also targeted by Fusion GPS.]  7-20-18
  63. Putin.  “Putin Tests Trump on Ukraine.”  [The Russian is watching the response to his latest military aggression.]  11-27-18
  64. Putin.  “Putin Pulls a Syria in Venezuela.”  [The Russian is betting he can prop up Maduro at little political cost.]  3-30-19
  65. Putin. “Putin and the Protesters.” [The Russian tends to strike abroad to distract from troubles at home.] 8-5-19
  66. Putin. “Putin Plays Judo, Not Chess.” By Angela Stent. [Russia is weak, but its leader makes the most of the West’s disarray and indecisiveness.] 8-9-19
  67. Putin. “Putin’s President-for-Life Plan.” [The Russian dictator is preparing to remain in power well into his 80s.] 3-11-20
  68. Putin. “Putin Can’t Afford to Leave Office When His Term Ends.” By David Satter. [Surrendering power would endanger his cronies and subject him to a grim historical reckoning.] 3-14-20
  69. Putin.  “A Look at Putin Through the Soviet Lens.”  (The Weekend Interview with Sergey Radchenko by Adam O’Neal.)  [The Ukraine situation reminds this Cold War historian of the Berlin crisis of 1958 – 61.]   1-8-22
  70. Putin.  “Putin Is Running Rings Around the West.”  By Walter Russell Mead.  [While U.S. and European leaders natter about soft power, Russia’s president is making power moves.] 1-13-22
  71. Putin.  “Don’t Bail Out Putin.”  [His Ukraine gambit is ultimately about enlisting the West in a scheme to prop up his rule.]  1-15-22
  72. Putin.  “Waiting for the Last Days of Putin.”  by Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.  [One view of the Ukrainian showdown:  Russia’s ‘godfather’ is losing it.]  1-26-22
  73. Putin.  “Putin’s New World Disorder.”  [The West should target his political control at home in Russia.]   2-25-22
  74. Putin.  “After He Swallows Ukraine, Putin will target the alliance.]   2-26-22
  75. Putin.  “Where Putin Goes From Here.”  By Peggy Noonan.  [The war is uncharted territory.  We don’t know how far he plans to go, but he isn’t stopping soon.]   2-26-22
  76. Putin.  “Putin Gambles That the West Is Weak.”  By Tony Abbott.  [Both militarily and culturally, we’ve been derelict in our duty to defend our civilization.]   2-28-22
  77. Putin.  “The Putin End Game.”  By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.  [His regime is destroying itself over a fictional threat of NATO aggression.]  3-2-22
  78. Putin.  “Putin Has Ensured His Own Downfall.”  By Jack Devine.  [The Russian president’s hubris and dream of rebuilding the Soviet Union will doom him.]  3-3-22
  79. Putin.  “Putin the Not So Great.”  By Holman W. Jenkins, Jr.  [Russia’s evil and pratfall-prone leader will soon be looking for an out.]   3-5-22
  80. Putin.  “Putin’s ‘Vertical’ Empire Will Fall.”  By Andy Kessler.  [Absolute control is no longer the key to wealth and power.  Innovation is.]   3-7-22
  81. Putin.  “Hitting Putin Where It Hurts.”  [ A U.S. ban on Russian oil imports is a distraction from the real issue.]  3-7-22
  82. Putin.  “Putin’s Other Nuclear Threat.”  By James L. Regens and Eugene A. Hughes.  [Friday’s attack on a power plant raises Chernobyl’s specter and the likelihood of a similar disaster.]   3-7-22
  83. Putin.  “Putin’s War Will Get Uglier.”  By Water Russell Mead.  [He won’t give up power without giving repression every chance to succeed.]   3-8-22
  84. Putin.  “Some of Putin’s Refugees Are Russian.”  By Mikhail Kokorich.  [Most are decent and oppose the war, and the West should show them compassion.]   3-8-22
  85. Putin.  “Putin’s Groupies Walk Back Their Praise.”  By Wm. A. Galston.  [Mike Pence said there is no room in the GOP for an apologist, while Trump plays the part.]  3-9-22
  86. Putin.  “Putin Is Angry, but He Isn’t Mad.”  By Michael O’Hanlon.  [He’s acted with arrogance and recklessness, but there’s ample historical precedent for his errors.]   3-10-22
  87. Putin.  “How to Deal With the Unappeasable Putin.”  By Walter Russell Mead.  ]The Russian Leader, like Mussolini, lacks the military and economy of a great power – and has an impossible political goal.]   3-11-22
  88. Putin.  “The West’s Economic War Plan Against Putin.”  (The Weekend Interview with Edward Fishman by Tunku Varadarajan.)  [After invading Ukraine, Russia is becoming ‘North Korea on the Volga,’ says an expert on sanctions.]   3-12-22
  89. Putin.  “Putin’s ‘De-Nazification’ Claim Began With Marx and Stalin.”  By Juliana Geran Pilon.  [Anti-Semitic myths have long been a staple of communist ideology and Soviet disinformation.]   3-12-22
  90. Putin.   “How Putin Exploits America’s Fear of Nuclear War.”  By David C. Gompert.  [The U.S. has better global intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities than Russia.]   3-23-22
  91. Putin.  “Spies Will Doom Putin.”  By Douglas London.  [He’s tightening the screws the way the Soviets did – and that will help the CIA recruit Russians.]   3-24-22
  92. Putin.  “Why won’t We Call Putin a Colonialist?”  by Melik Kylan.  [The West repudiates its imperial history.  Russia doesn’t.]   3-25-22
  93. Putin.  “Putin’s Crisis of Authoritarianism.”  By Holman w. Jenkins, Jr.  [Russia’s debacle in Ukraine slows democracy isn’t the model that’s failing.]   3-30-22
  94. Putin.  “The Putin Puzzle.”  By Holman w. Jenkins, Jr.  [Russia’s leader sees the Ukraine war as a way to make sure he dies in office.]  6-8-22
  95. Putin.  “Lessons From a Decade of Talking to Putin.”  By Adam O’Neal.  [I would be a lot more worried about Ukrainians than how Russians feel,’ says the Finnish president.]   6-13-22
  96. Putin.  “’If Putin Was a Woman…’”  by Walter Russell Mead.  [To grasp the Russian president’s worldview, binge-watch ‘Catherine the Great.’]   7-5-22
  97. Putin.  “It’s a Mistake to Shrug Off Putin’s threats.”  By Peggy Noonan.  [As we saw before World War I, it’s easy to become complacent as trouble builds into catastrophe.]   9-24-22
  98. Putin.  “Putin’s Nuclear Threat Is Real.”  By Walter Russell Mead.  [The conflict isn’t only about Ukraine.  He’s waging a global war on the U.S.-led order.]   10-4-22
  99. Putin.  “Will Putin Fall Like Khrushchev and Gorbachev?”  by Peggy Noonan.  [Russia’s strongman has become a weak man.  That proved a perilous position for his predecessors.]  10-15-22
  100. Putin.  “Putin’s Shakespearean Demons.”  By Robert D. Kaplan.  [Imagine the condition in the heart of Europe today had NATO’s boundaries stayed frozen after 1980.]  4-3-23
  101. Putin.  “It’s Too Early to Count Putin Out.”  By Walter Russell Mead.  [The rebellion made him look weak, but brutal leaders have survived worse.]   6-27-23
  102. Putin.  “Russia’s Godfather Is Losing It.”  By Holman W. Jenkins., Jr.  [Putin is too weak to win the war and also too weak to end it.]   6-28-23

 

 

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