Inside Putin's Head

While all politics is, in one form or another, an examination and probing of the psychological strengths and weaknesses of your opponent, the current crisis in Ukraine has made the study of what makes Putin tick into a virtual obsession.

The pages of your newspaper are replete with pieces that not only speak to the facts on the ground but to the motivations that drive the Russian president and to the question of what, if anything, will deter him.

"What Putin Really Wants", "Why Putin Doesn't Respect Us", "Putin, Flashing Disdain, Defends Action in Crimea", and "The Man on Horseback" are articles, op-eds and discussions intended to dissect the inner workings of the man and look for something, anything that will make him reconsider and reverse his recent course of action.

I suggest that "Putin on the Couch", authored by a leading psychiatrist, would make for fascinating reading. The shaping of world events by the force of one man's personality and vision has rarely been so evident..