Moscow empire’s leader — riding high on horseback!

[Litwin]

Lavrov in action
Classic power move vibes Moscow empire’s leader really knows how to make an entrance!

 

[Eman623]

What does Russia stand for nowadays? They used to rally around God and Tsar, then they rallied around Marx and International Communism. They opposed each other but at least each offered a unifying worldview.

What unifying worldview does Putin offer? Kleptocratic oligarchs and endless wars to try to regain an empire that will not be coming back?

Compared to past giants like Peter or Catherine or even Lenin and Stalin, Putin is exactly like a monkey riding on a pony.

 

[Litwin]

What does Russia stand for nowadays? They used to rally around God and Tsar, then they rallied around Marx and International Communism. They opposed each other but at least each offered a unifying worldview.

What unifying worldview does Putin offer? Kleptocratic oligarchs and endless wars to try to regain an empire that will not be coming back?

Compared to past giants like Peter or Catherine or even Lenin and Stalin, Putin is exactly like a monkey riding on a pony.

they stand for qazaliq ( jihad) nowadays. Putin’s qazaliq — the campaigns in Chechnya, Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine — serve to legitimize his claimed Mongol right to rule for the Mongol - Moscow imperialists. Each of these violent expeditions functions not only as conquest but as a ritual of political validation, echoing the old steppe tradition where raids established authority. Successful qazaliq does more than secure territory; it provides ideological justification for the existence of the Moscow empire itself. This is especially powerful in regions of Afro‑Asia where democracy is weak or absent, allowing Moscow to present itself as a rightful imperial center, sustained by force and myth rather than consent.

Russia’s Turn to Its Asian Past

Vladimir Putin famously described the loss of the Soviet empire as the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century. As nostalgia surges for the eastern conquest of Genghis Khan, Putin maps out his own empire.

www.wsj.com