From Der Spiegel
By Gabor Steingart

These days Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is often compared — unfairly — with Stalin and Hitler. In truth, Putin is a Russian Kennedy. And Putin’s Cuba is called Georgia.

Russia’s invasion of Georgia has brought lovers of historical comparisons out of the woodwork. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt, for one, compared Vladimir Putin with Hitler. And former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski felt reminded of Stalin’s treatment of Finland.

But these analogies have more to say about the West’s mood than about Putin. Although it may sound bold at first, and although the Americans won’t like hearing it, the Vladimir Putin the world has experienced in recent days bears the strongest resemblance to former US President John F. Kennedy in the years 1961 and 1962.

First, the youthful Kennedy was seen as the embodiment of a new America, just as the wiry Putin represents Russia’s revival. Kennedy was and Putin is deeply popular among his own citizens.

Second, even Kennedy drew a distinction between first-class and second-class sovereign states. He assumed that residents of the main house ought to have something to say in the backyard, as in Cuba, for example. Putin shares the same view, in the case of Georgia, for example. In America’s case we call such behavior dominant, and in Russia’s case aggressive. But we mean the same thing.

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