In the antechamber of Vladimir Putin’s presidential office in the Kremlin hangs a large portrait of Nicholas I, who ruled the Russian empire from 1825 to 1855. As Russia’s annexation of Crimea and the west’s retaliatory economic sanctions summon the spectres of hot and cold wars past, policy makers in Washington and Europe would do well to consider why Mr Putin chose the tsar as the historical figure at whose image visitors must gaze before they enter the president’s room. Then they will be on the right road to answering the question: “How do we deal with Putin?”
在克里姆林宫弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)总统办公室的接待室里，挂着俄罗斯帝国1825年到1855年的统治者——尼古拉一世(Nicholas I)的巨幅画像。俄罗斯对克里米亚的吞并，和西方的报复性manbetx20客户端下载 制裁，召唤起人们对过去热战和冷战时代的恐怖回忆。华盛顿和欧洲的政策制定者最好深刻思考一下，为什么普京要选择这位沙皇，成为访客们在进入总统办公室前必须凝视的历史人物。然后他们才有希望正确解答一个问题：“我们该拿普京怎么办？”