Vladimir Putin wants to put Russia back on the map as a great power. But what does it even mean to be a great power in the nuclear age? Is that idea still coherent? If it is, can Russia be such a power? And how is Putin using history to frame this quest? What does his framing reveal about him and about contemporary Russia?

The second in a series of conversations with historian Vladimir Petrovic about the implications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 

Resources:

• Putin's February 21st Speech, preceding Russia's invasion of Ukraine
• George Orwell's 1940 review of Mein Kampf
• Salvador Dali's "Geopoliticus Child Watching the Birth of the New Man"
• On Point interview with Alexander Vindman and Larry Wilkerson