Russia's energy deals, development helped lead a thuggish Putin to this moment

Vladmir Putin is the sole architect of the devastation of Ukraine. (Main photo/Aptopix)

Why have Europeans forgotten the historical evil of Russia's leaders and why has the Biden Administration made the United States dependent upon Russia for oil? Today Europe depends upon Ukraine and Russia for food and fuel. The U.S. is dependent upon Russia for fuel.
Today, power in Russia's authoritarian political system is concentrated in the hands of President Vladimir Putin. It is apparent that that the world has NOT learned from history or has chosen not to remember history lessons from World War II.
General George Patton warned the world of Russia. It appears that his warning has fallen upon deaf ears. "The difficulty in understanding the Russian is that we do not take cognizance of the fact that he is not a European, but an Asiatic, and therefore thinks deviously . . . I have no particular desire to understand them, except to ascertain how much lead or iron it takes to kill them. In addition to his other Asiatic characteristics, the Russian has no regard for human life and is an all-out son of bitch, barbarian, and chronic drunk." [Statement by Patton on 8 August 1945, as quoted in "General Patton : A Soldier's Life" (2002) by Stanley P. Hirshson, p. 650]
"The Cold War began after the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945, when the uneasy alliance between the United States and Great Britain on the one hand and the Soviet Union on the other started to fall apart. ... The Americans and the British worried that Soviet domination in eastern Europe might be permanent. After World War II, the Soviet Union extended its control into Eastern Europe. It took over the governments in Albania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia [now known as The Czech Republic], Hungary, East Germany, Poland, Romania and Yugoslavia ". [Wikipedia]
Almost as soon as he took office, President Richard Nixon began to implement a new approach to international relations. Instead of viewing the world as a hostile, "bi-polar" place, he suggested, why not use diplomacy instead of military action to create more poles? Nixon adopted a policy of "détente"-"relaxation"-toward the Soviet Union. The use of "diplomacy" has been nothing but a failure with Putin.
Despite Nixon's efforts, the Cold War heated up again under President Ronald Reagan. Like many leaders of his generation, Reagan believed that the spread of communism anywhere threatened freedom everywhere. Putin is proving this to be true.
Even as Reagan fought communism, the Soviet Union was disintegrating under Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. Soviet influence in Eastern Europe waned. In 1989, every other communist state in the region replaced its government with a noncommunist one. In November of that year, the Berlin Wall - the most visible symbol of the decades-long Cold War - was finally destroyed, just over two years after Reagan had challenged the Soviet premier in a speech at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin: "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." By 1991, the Soviet Union itself had fallen apart. The Cold War was over.
Putin stated this was the worst day of his life. Putin is former KGB. He is ruthless and uncaring. Under Putin, defectors and enemies have been poisoned and assassinated. A "small" indication of the evil that resides within Putin is reflected when he brazenly stole Robert Kraft's Super Bowl ring stating he could kill someone with it! Obama's White House did not want to create WWIII and refused to request the return of the ring.
Putin also is cunning and shrewd. Under his leadership Europe has become dependent upon Russia for energy with several gas lines--not just Nordstream 2. Additionally, Europe's breadbasket is Ukraine.
The Ukrainian people have been victimized by Russia as well as European and American elites for financial gain. Those elites promoted the corruption narrative thereby denying admission of Ukraine to NATO. Let us pray for the people of Ukraine; and, for all the world to awaken to presence of the evils bringing us to this place in history.

Cheryl Russell is a former high school teacher and 30-year employee with the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She lives in Dover.