3: 7. The Brutality of Control: From Stalin's Cynicism to Putin's War The cruelty demonstrated by Russian forces stems from a historical Russian/Soviet brutality where human life is regarded as cheap. Stalin exemplified this cynicism, as shown in a 1932 lett

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John Batchelor

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🗓️ 20 October 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

7. The Brutality of Control: From Stalin's Cynicism to Putin's War The cruelty demonstrated by Russian forces stems from a historical Russian/Soviet brutality where human life is regarded as cheap. Stalin exemplified this cynicism, as shown in a 1932 letter where he discussed using severe force to prevent losing control of Ukraine. For Moscow, controlling Ukraine is crucial, and both Imperial and Putin's governments are willing to use extreme violence to subjugate the population. When Putin launched the 2022 invasion, he was isolated and surrounded by yes-men, trapped by his belief that Ukrainians were essentially Russians who would welcome Russian control. The military force deployed was inadequate for conventional warfare, suggesting they planned only a short "policing operation"—a quick raid to change the government and hold a parade. This miscalculation and the resulting brutality are driven not by immediate security concerns like NATO, but by the deep psychological belief that Ukraine is not a real state and must be controlled by Russia.
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Transcript

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0:00.0	I'm John Batchel with Professor Eugene Finkel of Johns Hopkins. His book is intent to destroy
0:04.9	Russia's 200-year quest to dominate Ukraine. The cruelty of the war waged by the Russian forces
0:11.2	these last years against Ukraine is in the newspaper all the time. Where did it come from?
0:17.1	I have a periccabi from a letter that the professor quotes from Stalin to Gajvili to Kaganovich, August 11th, 1932.
0:29.8	Stalin writes, things in Ukraine are terrible. About 50 district committees spoke up against the grain procurement plan, called it unrealistic.
0:40.0	What is this? It is not a party, but a parliament, a caricature of a parliament.
0:45.4	If we don't start improving this situation now, we might lose Ukraine. Also, keep in mind that in Ukraine's
0:53.3	Communist Party, 500,000 members, ha ha, right Stalin,
0:57.5	there are not a few, yes, not a few, rotten elements, conscious and unconscious, petlerites.
1:05.6	Professor, I was struck by that letter because Stalin, who is often presented to me as a true believer, a Marxist-Leninist, a man who believes in transforming human beings into the new man, that letter is written by a cynic and a brute.
1:22.5	Is that the origin of the brutality that Vladimir Putin represents here in the Americas.
1:28.3	That brutality towards people whom he regards is, I don't know, he doesn't treat them as respectable human beings.
1:35.3	He treats them as somebody to be brutalized until they disappear.
1:40.3	Right. So I'm not sure, you know, this starts with Stalin. Stalin certainly does represent
1:46.2	this brutal, this Russian slash Soviet brutality and willingness to use extreme violence,
1:52.7	but it started even before Stalin. Human life is very cheap in Russia. It was very cheap in the
1:59.5	Soviet Union. It was very cheap in the,
2:02.3	you know, in the Russian Empire. And that's also what we see in Ukraine right now. So,
2:09.7	so the Soviet and the Russian government, both the imperial and Putin's government, is more than
2:15.4	willing to use violence to subjugate Ukraine.
2:18.3	They would rather do it peacefully, of course.
2:20.3	Violence is costly, but when they can do it by peace,
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