People understand the world through the stories they are told and tell, a historian writes. In the case of the war in Ukraine, narratives can create problems.
A military cadet stands near a billboard promoting army service in Saint Petersburg on Oct. 5, 2022.
Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images
While Russian public opinion polls show continued support for the war, there are questions about the polls’ reliability and indications that public approval of Putin is declining.
Devastating power: Russia shows off its strategic arsenal each year on Victory Day in Red Square, Moscow.
Oleg Elkov/Alamy Stock Photo
Russia and other countries and political regimes have a long history of forcing people to move, mostly for security and economic gains.
Vladimir Putin speaks at a rally in Moscow in March 2022, according to this Kremlin image, with a banner that says “For the world without Nazism! For Russia!”
Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Andalou Agency via Getty Images
Prosecuting a leader like Vladimir Putin accused of war crimes is difficult. But the trial of Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic in the early 2000s offers a potential playbook.
There have been calls to charge and prosecute Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes in Ukraine.
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Countries would likely need to set up new courts to prosecute Vladimir Putin for illegally invading Ukraine – but this isn’t a sure bet he would ever be held accountable for his crimes.
To the nationalist right, Vladimir Putin embodies similar qualities to Donald Trump’s: determination, virility and attachment to traditional values.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP
Former US president Donald Trump continues to wield an important influence within the Republican Party. Notwithstanding the war in Ukraine, he and his supporters continue to look up to Vladimir Putin.
Putin has psychological control over his people.
EPA-EFE
How do you solve a problem like Putin? What is needed is a two-level game.
A woman looks at a computer screen as Russian state news editor Marina Ovsyannikova protests the Ukraine war during a news segment.
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Russia is cracking down on freedom of speech and media. But other factors, like outside online information, could make it difficult to control war propaganda - and block out other information.
People gather outside the U.N. headquarters in New York City to protest the war in Ukraine on March 2, 2022.
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Russia holds veto power on the UN Security Council, blocking any action to interfere in the Ukraine war. This is unlikely to change soon – but the UN still has other options for engagement.
People protest in front of Ukraine’s embassy to Romania in Bucharest on Feb. 24, 2022.
Daniel Mihailescu/AFP via Getty Images
International laws are in place to prevent war and help protect civilians and combatants alike. But these laws are challenging to enforce and are unlikely to stop the unfolding Russia-Ukraine war.
People rest in the Kyiv subway, using it as a bomb shelter.
AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti
Countering Putin’s information strategy involves making two key arguments.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s popularity is on the rise again, but conflict with Ukraine may eventually change that.
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Approximately 69% of Russians approve of President Vladimir Putin. But a costly war is likely to chip away at his popularity, history and data tell us.