Putin fears his people, so makes Ukraine the external enemy - McFaul

Michael McFaul, director of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI), American diplomat and member of the s nctions group, shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Putin has become more authoritarian. He became more afraid of his people, so he needed an external enemy to justify his authoritarianism. That is why he became more anti-Western, anti-Ukrainian," the diplomat said.

"The expansion of democracy threatened Putin's rule inside Russia. Putin often told his people that Russians need a strong state. Russians do not need Western ways of governing because they are different," McFaul said.

According to him, in 2000, Putin was not so anti-democratic, although even then McFaul personally warned the international community about him.

"I wrote my first article about Putin in 2000, warning the world about his anti-democratic actions. He has always been an imperialist. He mourned the collapse of the Soviet Union. He is KGB, and he has spent his entire life defending the Soviet "empire." But 20 years ago, he was more pro-market and pro-Western," says the director of the Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI).

In terms of market reforms, McFaul said Putin first cut individual income tax and moved Russia to a 13% flat tax. He also cut corporate taxes and respected private property. 

"This is no longer the case today. He has restored strict state control over the economy, especially after the invasion of your country," said Michael McFaul.

In his opinion, Putin is not afraid of NATO expansion, but of democratic expansion. 

"He saw Serbia in 2000, Georgia in 2003, and most importantly, the Orange Revolution in your country. It was a threat to his authoritarian way of governing. Of course, then the Revolution of Dignity became an even greater threat," the Ambassador stressed.

• On 9 September, McFaul met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They discussed strengthening sanctions against Russia's energy, financial and banking sectors.