Putin likens himself to Peter the Great

Russian President Vladimir Putin compared himself favorably to Peter the Great, a Russian monarch from the late 17th century, using the likening to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In his comments, Putin argued that Peter the Great was not conquering, but rather fighting over territory that rightfully belonged to Russia. CNN's Salma Abdelaziz reports. #CNN #News

[gregruland]

Odd - Peter the Great was the greatest Westernizer of Russia - he admired the achievements of Europe -

[gljm]

"Peter the Great", More like "Ivan the Terrible".

[AndyM_YYY]

Well, if he was Donald Trump he'd be saying he was greater than Peter the Great. But the closest historical match to Putin would be Ivan the Terrible, whose reign put Russia on the path to the Time of Troubles. The appropriate name given his legacy will be Vladimir the Thief.

[ericbrown]

I called it. He doesn't want to recreate the Soviet Union, he wants to recreate the Russian Empire and crown himself Tsar.

[I.____.....__...__]

Is this really a surprise? This was OBVIOUSLY what he always wanted, it was never about any of the absurd half-baked attempts at excuses he made, it was _always_ about trying to reunite the USSR so he can be a tsar and feel special. This is ONLY about his EGO, people are DYING for his EGO. 😠

[j]

Deal with Russian aggression today or Soviet aggression tomorrow. Its that simple. They don't plan to stop at Ukraine!

Eternal glory to those who stand up against tyranny!💕

[krisfrederick]

Hitler "likened himself" to Frederick the Great, look where that got us. 👀

[simonpeterokiror]

Putin is now proud. Let him remember that pride comes before a fall.

[lbrounen]

Something is not right in his head. Peter the Great came to the Netherlands to learn about boatbuilding. Send Vladimir over, so the Dutch can learn him a different lesson.

[jeremyvanbriesies]

I said from the beginning ...This war was not about Nato expansion....It was about Putin's ideal of being a tzar

[richardbenjamin]

Peter the Great was 6’8”. Just sayin’ Vlad.

[arcadie]

Pray for all the brave Ukrainians who are defending their country on the frontline in eastern Ukraine

[item]

So he has admitted that he is just like Hitler. He wants a Greater Russia Ethnostate. No difference whatsoever in means or end goal to Hitler, just with a Russian twist.

[ValentinTzankov]

Peter wanted access to sea. Sweden held the Baltic Sea, and the Ottomans held the Black Sea. So he first decided to fight Ottomans, he took Azov from them but realized they are too strong for him to get Bosphorus from them, so he gave up. He went north, claimed the Swedish province of Ingria for himself, it is sad that Putin doesn't know his own history. Also Peter beheaded his lover Mary Hamilton, took the head talked to the head for 30min, kissed her one last time and then threw it to his hunting dogs!

[andreaswolfmoon]

Russian non military people really needs to wake up now, he is really destroying his own country with this madness

[dsfwest]

I note he referred to Peter the Great’s war with Sweden as a “taking back what is ours” moment and that “we” need to do the same thing. So, is Sweden now on the target list along with presumably the rest of Ukraine, Moldova, the Baltics, Poland, Finland etc etc?

[finnjacobsen]

Anyone still wondering if Putin is sane with his delusions of grandeur?

[ЖмурикХмурик-пы]

He is sleeping with peters portrait every night.

[joyceshefland]

No big deal. Trump likens himself to the second coming.

[elizabethnjoki]

Hitler never let up . He only killed himself when he faced all the badasses together and found he could not win.