Putin's appetite is Soviet, not tsarist

Apart from the tsarist regime having been run by tyrants or maniacs, there are additional reasons why Putin would be well advised to steer clear of that history. The reality is that in military terms the tsars were often and woefully unsuccessful.

Russian forces were annihilated by the Japanese in the war of 1904-05, not to mention the ridiculous incident when Russian warships fired on British fishing vessels at the Dogger Bank, mistaking them for torpedo boats. The less said about Russian military strategy in the first world war the better. Further back, Russia could not even defeat the Turkish empire – the “sick man” of Europe – in the Crimean War. The list is endless.

Australian PM Tony Abbott has got his history mixed up. What Putin is trying to create is not tsarism but the Stalinist vision of an Eastern (or even Central) Europe firmly within Russia’s orbit. The Crimea and then eastern Ukraine were Putin’s starter. The main course is likely to be the Baltic republics. He may choose to skip dessert.

Barry Kenyon