Legacy of Putin's war on terror weighs heavily on modern Russia

The lessons Putin learned in the struggle against terrorism in the early 2000s became his template for later struggles. These lessons—about crudely manipulating public opinion, the effectiveness of the brutal application of force, and the negligible value of thousands of human lives—inform his strategy for waging the long war against Ukraine. His mindset is so rigidly confrontational that all attempts to engage him in reasonable conversation on ending the war—whether originating in Beijing or New Delhi—and all hopes for dissuading him from escalating the hostilities—whether cherished in Ankara or Berlin—are in vain. The war on terror wounded Russia, and the war on Ukraine has further traumatized and confused the country. However, healing can start only with Russia’s acceptance of responsibility for the crime of aggression.