In the weeks since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, one man has loomed large: Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin.
Every inch the potentate, he began by soliciting support from key ministers live on TV; he followed this up with an outraged verbal assault on Ukraine, lambasting Lenin, Stalin and Gorbachev for good measure. Three days later, in the early morning in Moscow, he was back on national television announcing the start of military action. The first tanks moved in and the first bombs were dropped within hours.
