Tactical victories often end in strategic defeats. That is what Vladimir Putin is in for. The Russian president’s calculations appeared correct at first: the west swallowed the annexation of Crimea, and the Ukrainians did not resist for fear of all-out war. That put Russia on the path of military-patriotic mobilisation, enabling Mr Putin to claim absolute power without resorting to mass repressions. Yet by turning Russia into a war state, Mr Putin has unleashed the process he cannot stop and made himself hostage to suicidal statecraft.
战术上的胜利往往会以战略上的失败告终。这就是俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔•普京(Vladimir Putin)将迎来的命运。普京打的算盘起初看起来是正确的：西方无奈接受克里米亚被吞并的事实，乌克兰由于害怕爆发全面战争而不敢反抗。这让俄罗斯走上了军事爱国主义的道路，从而使得普京能够不用依靠大规模肃反运动就能获得绝对权力。然而，通过将俄罗斯转变为一个战争国家，普京启动了一个他自己都无法停止的过程，自杀性的治国方略将让他身不由己。