Rutland Assesses the Threat from Russia in U.K. Mirror

Peter Rutland, the Colin and Nancy Campbell Professor in Global Issues and Democratic Thoughts, writes in the Mirror (U.K.) about the threat to the West by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He considers the comparison made by British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon to the Islamic State. While “Putin’s people are not beheading Christians or burning captives alive,” writes Rutland, Russia has nuclear weapons — lots of them. “And is willing to use them if necessary,” he writes.

“Deterrence only works if both sides see each other as unwilling to risk war. And [Putin] believes the West will not risk nuclear conflict over where to draw Ukraine’s borders, or the language rights of people in breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk,” Rutland writes. “He has shown in words and deeds that he is willing to risk war to stop Ukraine from joining NATO.”

Rutland also is professor of government, professor of Russian and Eastern European studies, and tutor in the College of Social Studies.