{"id":538,"date":"2022-02-23T16:52:15","date_gmt":"2022-02-23T16:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rubinwealthadvisors.com\/rubinreport\/?p=538"},"modified":"2023-09-08T18:20:22","modified_gmt":"2023-09-08T18:20:22","slug":"russia-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rubinwealthadvisors.com\/rubinreport\/russia-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia Ukraine: Vlad The Instigator Enjoying Himself At West’s Expense"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Vlad the Instigator Enjoying Himself at West\u2019s Expense<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Vlad\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

It is risky these days to write an opinion piece that attempts to analyze Vladimir Putin and the goings-on in Russia and Ukraine.\u00a0 In the time it takes to write and publish a 750-word column (roughly four to twenty-four hours) you could have that could be the equivalent of two-four news cycles in this rapidly changing situation.\u00a0 Just late yesterday the beginning of the Russian invasion was announced.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Over the past several weeks, it has not been uncommon for MSM platforms, to which you can subscribe for real-time updates, to come out with \u201cbreaking news\u201d twice in the same day where the latter update seems to contradict the former.\u00a0 \u201cPutin Set to Invade, White House Says.\u201d\u00a0 \u201cRussia Ready to Talk with White House.\u201d\u00a0 These are the kinds of headlines that historically span the course of months.\u00a0 In this case, they can be separated by hours.<\/p>

The typical opinion piece focuses on, \u201cWhat does Putin Want in Ukraine.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a valid question.\u00a0 If you place that question into the standard search bar, you get 2.3 million results.\u00a0 All forms of speculation are valid, and they are all correct to some degree.<\/p>

  • Putin is driving up the price of oil.<\/li>
  • Restore the old Soviet Union to its former glory<\/li>
  • Putin wants to keep Ukraine out of NATO membership.<\/li>
  • Putin wants NATO to recede for neighboring Ukraine States.<\/li>
  • Putin seeks leverage to use in negotiating an endless list of other demands<\/li><\/ul>

    There is one bit of speculation that isn\u2019t mentioned and that encapsulates any one, or all, of the above:\u00a0 Vladimir Putin is simply having fun.<\/p>

    Vlad the Instigator, the man who almost since the moment he has taken office has enjoyed playing Western leaders as if they were an ensemble Stratovarius violins performing a Prokofiev concerto, has got to be having more fun in this moment than he had since taking office in 1999 (he had a four-year gap 2008-12 where he was Russian Prime minister, not President).\u00a0 He reads the same Western news reports and op-eds that we read.\u00a0 He knows that he has his adversaries consulting experts, visiting fortune tellers, and reading entrails in an attempt to figure out his next move.<\/p>

    To this point, those \u201cnext moves\u201d have seemed to be inexplicable and random.\u00a0 Perhaps they are unless you consider that the moves he\u2019s been making have been intended to appear inexplicable and random<\/em>.\u00a0 The term we used when I was a kid for what Putin is doing to the West was \u201cyanking your chain.\u201d\u00a0 This doesn\u2019t mean he has no end game in mind, it simply means he is going to enjoy the journey on the way there.\u00a0 Putin is the playground bully to the West who has us in fear wondering if he is going to steal our Nike\u2019s, our lunch money, or both.<\/p>

    \u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Rubin\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t