Putin is a KGB-trained gangster, not an ideological opponent, and can be understood by comparing him to a crime boss from a gang-ridden area rather than analyzing him through traditional political or diplomatic frameworks.
definitionpending
Speaker
Mikhail KhodorkovskyEvidence Quote
“when I tell them that in order to understand Putin they shouldn't really talk to experts from the foreign office they should go to a crime ridden area to the local police station is where any Police Inspector would tell them what a normal gangster Matthews is like and how you deal with them he's a gangster”
Source
How The West Can Stop Putin, with Exiled Critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky | Intelligence Squared— Intelligence SquaredCreated: 8/10/2026, 10:56:34 PM
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