Russia and Ukraine flashpoint

[SanAndreasX]

Zkuq said:

SanAndreasX said:

I'm guessing both. That was basically the USSR's strategy for surviving WWII. If Stalin hadn't had a relatively limitless number of men to throw at the Germans, plus the harsh Russian winter and the pressure from the Western front, the Germans might very well have been able to take Moscow.

I've read that Stalin was also practically petrified for a good while after Germany attacked due to being so terrified of screwing up the whole country so badly. Apparently that would have been a great opportunity for someone else to seize power, but no one dared because of Stalin's earlier purges. Anyway, I don't know if that's true, but sometimes I wonder if Putin's apparent indecisiveness is that or if he just takes his time to consider the options and not act too rashly.

I agree that this seems to have been the Russian strategy since... I don't know, probably even way before WW2. It's definitely not anything new though.

Putin likely considers things more carefully than Stalin did. Stalin had a lot of mental health issues, which were no doubt exacerbated by the position he was in. Putin also has time to carefully consider his actions that Stalin didn't. Putin also has the benefit of a nuclear umbrella and the ability to sell his country's resources to China and India, which Stalin didn't really have.