Putin wants to prove he is not afraid of Trump

Note that in recent days, Putin has been regularly responding to such attacks, whereas a year ago, when the same Kazan was targeted, he remained silent. But now, there's a personal reaction.

It seems to me that, first of all, he is currently convincing himself of his own righteousness (refusing negotiations and scaring the world with Oreshnik). It's a way of raising the stakes in his own mind; secondly, his inner circle is pushing him "to the front" (when he voices things previously stated by Medvedev and Volodin).

Why is his inner circle doing this? Obviously, they want Putin, in their view, to become more manageable. Cornered, he will be forced to rely solely on the "old guard," who may have their last chance to play their part.

It’s possible that this is the moment when the tail wags the dog, pushing Putin into a situation where he won't be able to escape certain traps. The first time this happened during the war was when he declared four regions annexed. His logic then was simple: the West would be afraid to supply weapons for a war on Russian territory. Now, as I understand it, his inner circle is playing on his ambitions and fears, ultimately pushing him to the belief that the U.S. will agree to all his terms because Trump will have no other choice.

Putin fears Trump, but at the same time, through his inner circle, tries to prove to himself that Trump could turn out to be as weak as Bush, who faltered after Hurricane Katrina, as Obama with his "reset" of relations with Russia, and of course, as Biden. Yet, he still fears Trump. However, it seems that his circle, which demands war knowing that Putin wants this war, reassures him not to be afraid. Trump won’t go anywhere and will agree to all of Russia’s terms.

I write all this purely to try to explain Putin's logic. Life will make its own serious adjustments. And Putin’s current state can largely be compared to a child’s behavior before a dentist's office. The child is afraid but asks their parents, "Honestly, I’m not afraid of the dentist, am I?"

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About the author. Vadym Denysenko, political scientist.

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