Putin would like to seize Finland, but its power is holding him back — British historian

Russian President Vladimir Putin would be happy to capture Finland, but he is held back by the historical memory and the level of defense of this country. This was stated by British historian Anthony Beevor, according to Ilta-Sanomat.

Beevor is currently in Helsinki, where he participates in the Helsinki Lit literary festival with his new book about Grigory Rasputin. It is called "The Destruction of Rasputin and the Romanovs" (WSOY) and was published in Finnish this spring.

"Putin would certainly like to seize Finland. But you have already shown once how capable you are to fight against the Soviet Union. And now, probably, they would have fought even harder," Beevor said in an interview with IS.

Putin's dreams, according to the British historian, are also hindered by the Russian army because of, as he believes, the corruption that reigns there and the cruel treatment of soldiers, including "African mercenaries" fighting in the Ukraine.

"They are ordered to attack with anti-tank mines attached to their equipment. In practice, they are turned into suicide bombers," the historian said.

Where he got these "details", he did not say.

The journalist of the publication asked Beevor if a figure like Rasputin could enter Putin's inner circle and gain influence.

"No, I'm not. Putin is the same narcissist as [Donald] Trump. He doesn't listen to anyone," said the historian with knowledge of the matter.

He also informed the publication that Putin's list includes the Baltic States and other regions that were previously part of tsarist Russia. At the same time, Beevor categorically rejected the idea that Putin wants to restore the USSR.

"Putin is not trying to restore the Soviet Union. He is trying to restore the Russian Empire," he pleased the venerable audience.

The historian also noted that ideologically Putin relies more on the ideas of white emigration after the 1917 revolution than on the Soviet legacy. According to him, we are talking about the concept of a strong tsar and the special role of Russia as an empire in the entire Eurasian space — "from Vladivostok to Dublin."

"(This) is, of course, absurd. We can't get into Putin's head. We don't know if he really believes in it, or if he uses such thinking only in his propaganda," Beevor complained.