What truly threatens Putin is not NATO expansion but democratic expansion—specifically Ukrainians practicing democracy and capitalism—because it undermines his domestic narrative that Russia is a separate civilization from the decadent liberal West while also being kindred to Ukrainians ('Russians with accents').
causalpending
Speaker
Michael McFaulEvidence Quote
“if they're just Russians with accents practicing democracy, practicing capitalism, that is a threat to Vladimir Putin, not NATO expansion.”
Source
“They’re Not Like Us”: Michael McFaul on Autocrats vs. Democrats and the Fight for the 21st Century— Hoover InstitutionCreated: 6/18/2026, 1:57:41 PM
My Notes
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