play the ball, not the man ?
are we missing the point by aiming at Putin and risking another North Korea ?
by attacking Putin, we're inviting Russians to weigh the pros and cons of his reign whilst inviting Putin to defend his track record.
putin supporters with years of Putin's controlled narrative may well conclude the West is lying.
that's very different from attacking freedom of political choice - the thing that Putin most fears... the thing Putin's really fighting against. the thing that keeps him in power.
Notes/Stream of consciousness given freedom of political choice, 18 countries have leaned towards the west and joined NATO since 1949. That's not to say they're pure democracies. We're not either. But they've chosen the path as the west.
Putins control of traditional media and manipulation of traditional media has delivered a great deal of support based on misinformation.
the combination of personal attacks on Putin and Russian isolation runs the risk of another North Korea.
this is not about what Putin wants, it’s about what Putin doesn’t want.
all of it boils down to support at home.
a leader, by definition requires followers.
Putin’s real fear is freedom of political choice.
if our commentary is focussed on Putin, he can posit that those against him are liars and hypocrites based on their past actions (at least he can whilst he controls Russian media).
if we focus on “freedom of political choice”, we support Russias right to choose Putin alongside Ukraine’s right to lean towards a more liberal form of democracy.
this approach delivers the foundation for public discourse to focus on the facts which will ultimately dismantle the narrative Putin has sold his supporters.
it will lead to questioning Putins curbs on the flow of independent information, free speech etc.