Russia’s war in Ukraine is a horrific enactment of the struggle between autocracy and democracy. As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy poignantly stated, “Russia fears our democracy more than we are proud of it.”
Putin understands well that democracy spreads, and, if on his border, could quickly infect his country and threaten his power. The Russian invasion aims not only to fulfil his delusional visions of ethno-Russian nationalism and reclaim a fallen empire, but also to signal authoritarian ascendance both globally and domestically.
