Peter Pomerantsev - Imperial Ambition, Autocracy and the Compulsion to Humiliate Drives Russia's War

<p>After Putin was foisted on Russians in 2000 as their new president, they &nbsp;also chose to elect him. His direct and coarse language, threat and &nbsp;intimation of violence attracted people, and continued to do so for 20 &nbsp;years. Russians’ fetish for strong leaders, and superficial social and &nbsp;political stability has now backfired spectacularly. Once he had &nbsp;ascended to power, we should not be surprised that he stayed and refused &nbsp;to move on. Putin’s model of authoritarian leadership always leads to &nbsp;tragedy and blood – humiliation and violence. So, we get to Feb-22, when &nbsp;Russia dragged Ukraine and the world into its deep-rooted trauma and &nbsp;hell. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>Peter Pomerantsev is a Soviet-born British journalist, author, and TV &nbsp;producer. He is a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Global Affairs at &nbsp;the London School of Economics, where he co-directs the Arena program. &nbsp;He is also an associate editor at Coda Media. He has written two books &nbsp;about Russian disinformation and propaganda: Nothing Is True, and &nbsp;Everything Is Possible (2014) and This Is Not Propaganda (2019). Peter &nbsp;was born into a Russian speaking Jewish family in Kyiv, in 1977. In &nbsp;1978, he moved with his parents to West Germany, after his father, &nbsp;broadcaster, and poet Igor Pomerantsev, was arrested by the KGB for &nbsp;proliferating anti-Soviet literature. They later moved to Munich and &nbsp;then London where Igor Pomerantsev worked for the BBC World Service.</p>