The most terrifying thing about Putin is not that he’s delusional, but that he might be right

In a tone that veered between defiant proclamation and cold calculation, Vladimir Putin’s 2024 “state of the nation” address offered yet another window into his ideological grounding for the war against Ukraine. Through rose-tinted spectacles, Putin delivered a narrative that paints the war and the world as he wishes them to be. He positioned himself as the arbiter of a new world order, one where Russia’s ideological crusade against Ukraine is not just justified but celebrated, and where the Wes