Russia - threadbanned users in OP

I see your point and there are many similarities, but in some ways Russia and Russians are worse than the Germans in the 1930's. It's a lot more understandable why they would follow and support the nazis back then. They had been through one of the worst economic depressions in modern history, their currency had been worthless and post Great War punitive sanctions against Germany had hurt, not least their pride, unemployment and political unrest was a regular occurance. Things were stabilising in the early 20's hyperinflation had eased off, unemployment dropped and extremists like the facists and communists lost favour. Then the Wall Street crash happened. Soon a third of Germans were unemployed and the country was going down the poo pipe. Again. Hitler had by pure luck forecast an economic disaster so made hay on the back of it. He gets in and unemployment drops, the economy rallies and he pushes the buttons of Germany's pride and restores it. So by the mid 30's the average German(who wasn't on his extermination list of course) felt much better off and felt Germany was leading the world again and taking 'her rightful place among European nations' and all that jazz.

With Russia and putin, he also took over during a period of economic and political unrest when the country was being buggered by their own pirates. Got rid of the pirates he hated, brought his own pirates in and continued to bugger the nation, and all of this was in plain view. He gave more scraps from the master's table so the Russian people thought and think he saved them from the bad times and he encouraged them to think that. Germans just before the war felt their country had caught up and was streaking ahead of others, and their early unreal successes in the war bolstered that belief. Russians just before this war knew they weren't, unless they were morons and this war has shown the deep cracks even more plainly.

Never mind that in the 20's and 30's state propaganda had a much easier time of it. No internet, no mass world media, no social media where information can be minutes old and travel was for the rich, who don't tend to rock any boats. It was far easier to keep a German(or anyone for that matter) in blissful ignorance cheering on the pageantry and surface. Russians today under middle age in urban areas in the west of the country have no such excuses. Even after putin has recently brought down the censorship hammer and sickle, balanced and widespread information is but a click away, never mind what they had access to that and knew before this kicked off. They have chosen to believe and support their side. Even many Russians living and working in the West for years choose to believe and support their side.

It looks irrational now, but IMHO it's a mistake to think the idea going in was. For putin anyway. To him and many Russians suckling on his propaganda teat this was a liberation of ethnic Russians from 'nazis'. It was a way for him to do some grand gesture befitting a czar and to show his subjects the threat of 'The West'(which runs through their blood at this stage) and how strong czar Vlad would show them. The targeting of civilians was always going to happen, as were the losses of his own men. He expected and allowed for that in a way a Western leader couldn't. He doesn't care about Western optics. The nuclear mickey waving was also 'a warning to The West' for the world and his people and the biggest stick he has to wave. Without it the West could reduce Russia and her armies to a bloody rubble. It is literally his only bargaining chip.

For me the most actually irrational thing he's done is to go beyond taking the Donbas(and maybe extending his land route to Crimea). That makes little to no sense to me, because he probably could have gotten away with that and gave a 'win' to his subjects. Hubris I suppose, and thinking the West and Europe and the rest of the world were weak. Sadly for him they've rarely been this united in wanting to fúck someone up and are doing so with their money. As usual always follow the money. If so many Western societies and huge corprorate interests are willing to take a major financial hit to make a point, the one they're making the point to is screwed.