Before beginning the operation in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Security Council's final meeting, and one Kremlin hawk appeared to rule the room. This is the man who wants Putin’s job.
The influential Security Council secretary and close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin from their time working together at the KGB in St. Petersburg, Nikolai Patrushev, informed the Russian leader that the United States was to blame for the unrest in eastern Ukraine and was trying to engineer Russia's demise. In aired comments, Patrushev stated that "our task is to defend the territorial integrity of our country and defend its sovereignty."
Patrushev, whose role is comparable to that of the national security adviser in the United States, was reflecting a Cold War perspective that has motivated Putin's war. Patrushev has evolved into a staunch advocate for a militarized Russia ever since Putin authorized the operation on February 24, surprising a large porti...