Commentary by Valery Zaluzhny - Ambassador of Ukraine to the UK, former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) – for Ukrainska Pravda
Time will tell whether dictators are reborn and humanity cannot afford to relax.
Hannah Arendt, a German-American political theorist, wrote that the government structures created by Stalin and Hitler represented “an absolutely new form of government“, which is likely to reappear in various other forms in the future. Arendt, one of the most important thinkers of the last century, also warned that “all ideologies contain totalitarian elements“.
I will not describe the two very similar Olympics, I will not comment on TIME magazine, which, 70 years apart, named both dictators Person of the Year. Without going into a deep analysis of the historical and social reasons that brought these cannibals to power, the undeniable fact remains that this became possible thanks to the official permission of both German and Russian society.
According to the fair assessment of [Ukrainian historian] Larisa Yakubova, formally what dictators need is a population that is afraid even of its own shadow. The inability to oppose a totalitarian dictatorship that deprives society of rights and freedoms ultimately leads to catastrophic consequences.
Georgia as the Sudetenland
Only in 2008, too late, did individual researchers begin to draw analogies between the two dictators in connection with the events in Georgia. It was then that the Russian leadership began to coldly implement its long-prepared plan.
In 2008, we learned that Russia had special rights in the privileged zones in the post-Soviet space. This war was similar in spirit to Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland in 1938.
European and American leaders were immersed in a bunch of other global and domestic problems, leaving this aggression out of their sight, hoping that this would be the end of it. And this, of course, became an incentive for further annexations by the “collector of Russian lands“ and “restorer of the USSR“ Putin.
In February 2010, a new Russian military doctrine was proclaimed, and in February 2013, a new foreign policy concept. It clearly states that Russia has the right to protect the Russian population outside its territory.
Completely dependent on their own mental disorders, the dictators had an urgent need to create a system of dependent and loyal people. Thus, according to the same Hannah Arendt, loyalty to the leader becomes the main criterion for advancement [in the hierarchy]. Ambitious party members compete with each other to express their loyalty, and a cult of personality is created around the leader.
Isn’t this exactly what we see in today’s Russia? Even if he is not particularly competent and the members of his inner circle are aware of his shortcomings, they remain loyal to the leader for fear that without him the entire power structure will collapse.
After coming to power, totalitarian movements face a serious dilemma in fulfilling their promises. They solve this problem by engaging in a constant struggle with external and internal enemies, real or imagined. That is, totalitarian governments must constantly fight enemies in order to survive. Both Hitler and Putin used the creation of the image of an external and internal threat for internal use and to maintain their own unlimited power.
Putin, like Hitler, spent a long time preparing the country for war, eliminating the few opponents and creating a powerful propaganda machine. It is propaganda that is their main support and justification for constant wars. In 1938, Germany captured Austria, calling it “unification“. Russia did the same in Crimea, holding a pseudo-referendum to legitimize the Anschluss.
Then Hitler annexed the Sudetenland, explaining this by protecting the rights of the Germans living in the region. Doesn't the situation resemble the beginning of the war in Donbas in 2014? In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and in February 2022, Russia began a full-scale war in Ukraine. Both dictators tried to present their aggression as a defense against attack.
As of January 2025, the war in Ukraine has been going on for almost 11 years. At the same time, the phase of full-scale aggression has almost reached 3 years. In terms of the scale of losses, resources involved, and duration, the war in Ukraine is not the deadliest of all wars known to mankind. But it is the most brutal act of violence of the 21st century.
Was I right when I said that the Third World War had begun? Our descendants will say so in a hundred years. But today it is obvious that the war started by a paranoid, mentally ill Fuhrer has every chance of taking its place on the pedestal of the most terrible events in human history. Whether this will happen depends on the path chosen by Ukraine and the entire civilized society.
... the war continues. It will not disappear or dissipate by itself. And as in any war, you can win or lose. We must be together in this battle against a cannibalistic dictator. This is a powerful enemy, to fight which Ukraine and the entire democratic world must unite all their forces.
While the West was afraid of the “red lines“ Putin, Russia received support from China, North Korea and Iran
While the West continued to fear Putin's “red lines” and prayed for the need to avoid escalation, China, North Korea and Iran had already united behind Russia. The delay of democratic countries in providing Ukraine with the necessary amount of weapons led to a change in the situation on the battlefield. Ukrainians are fighting tyranny today, but whether this war will be limited to Ukraine is something that should worry the entire democratic world. And act!
Of course, a dictatorial regime is more suited to war. Such a regime can quickly send millions of people to dig trenches, produce shells and drones. Dictatorship regimes know how to mobilize all resources for waging war.
But one thing (and history confirms this) that dictatorial regimes cannot do is avoid fatal mistakes. Where one person decides everything, there is no room for other opinions. For Hitler, the decision to attack the USSR will later become fatal. Putin's decision to attack Ukraine in 2022 will also be fatal thanks to our incredible efforts.
In the war with this dictator, we must not only survive, but also implement a new strategy, the purpose of which is not only to control the situation on the battlefield, but also to form a system for the country's resilience and transition to new technological solutions. This war is different. Therefore, not just endurance, but a decisive and timely response to new challenges will be the key to Ukrainian victory. Glory to Ukraine!