Putin's greatest achievement is staying in power — political analyst

He shared this opinion in the The World and Us project.

“For politicians of this type — dictators or authoritarian leaders — the biggest achievement is holding onto power. The longer they stay in power, the more they see themselves, and are seen by others like them, as successful. Every day in power is already an achievement. And not just holding power through violence or bribery — though those play a role. Unfortunately, he \[Putin] does it systemically. He maintains control over the territory — the Russian Federation — and is perceived by Russians as a legitimate ruler. That, in fact, is his greatest personal achievement,” Horbach said.

He also emphasized that the Vladimir Putin dreams of going down in Russian history as an expander of lands and territories.

“He certainly dreams of entering the history of Russia or the Russian Empire as someone who expanded its territories. That’s why he engages in external wars of conquest. He hasn’t been successful in everything, but he’s committed to it, and I don’t think he’ll give it up — not until his death or until he loses power. He identifies himself with Russia, its history, and past tsars. That’s his symbolic achievement — on a political-symbolic level,” the analyst added.

• Russian leader Vladimir Putin has stated what he sees as the desired outcome of the “special operation” in Ukraine.