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Description
The title says it all. I'm gonna do similar maps with other dictators. As they are plenty of dictators this will (sadly) be a long series. The sources I used came from various speeches from Vladmir Putin or his supporters.

I also remind you that Putin's crazy ambitions do not reflect my political beliefs. Autoritarianism is humanity's curse and only leads to war, misery and death.

EDIT: I've seen a lot of comments outraged by this map, claiming it is "unrealistic" or "exagerated". I remind you that this map is supposed to be the "worst case scenario" or the "ultimate ambitions" of a dictator, here Putin. I know that he would be satisfied with less of that and that all those claims are not official, but that's not the purpose of this map. So I'm gonna answer frequently asked question because I don't want to loose my time answering every single comment with the same answer.

"Why so much of eastern Europe?"

I'm gonna start from north to south. First Svalbard. It's an archipelago rich of ressources and could widen Russia's claim on the Arctic.

Åland and Gøtland: Russia had kind of a "geopolitical trauma" when it comes to Sweden (a bit like Poland), which means that despite the size of their rival being reduced compared to centuries before, Sweden is still seen as a threat. Controlling those islands means controlling the Baltic, and especially Sweden.

Baltics: This is well known. Putin unofficially declared the declarations of independence of the Baltic States "illegal". He also regularly speaks of "liberating the russian minority".

Belarus: They is litterally an ongoing process of integration of Belarus into the russian federation.

Ukraine: do I really need to explain?

Poland: Putin and Lukaschenko have mentionned several times the idea of an annexation of the Suwalki corridor, a link through Poland and Lithuania to the exclave of Kaliningrad. Russia also has a geopolitical trauma from Poland, and his panslavist and eurasianist ideas make possible that he wants to put an end to an independent polish state in his ideal world order.

Moldova: Lukaschenko accidentely revealed a strategic map where the transdniestrian army was suppose to invade Moldova.

Romania: it would be to help his puppet Orban to gain territory and also to control Black Sea Ports. It also would be a direct link to Serbia/Yugoslavia.

Bulgaria: Same as Romania, access to Black Sea Ports, Black Sea oil pipes and a border with Turkey.

Greece: this is more of a symbolic claim. It would justify Russia's successor of Rome or the Byzantine Empire as opposition to Greece. It would also give them an access to the mediterranean and they could gain better supply to Syria.

"Why big Turkey/why no Tsarigrad?"

Putin is not a tsar. He is maybe crazy and megalomaniac, but he has some diplomatic pragmatism. Today, Turkey plays a bit both sides in foreign relations (I plan to make the "What Recep Tayip Erdogan wants" - map soon). They are pipelines which connects both countries. It is far more advantagous for Putin to have a friendly turkish government rather than to directly control such a populated country like Turkey, especially Istanbul with his 16 million inhabitants.

"Why no big Armenia/why big Azerbaidjan?"

A deal from the ministry of defence of the russian federation as revealed that they is a plan to divide Armenia between the russian and turkish zone of influence. Putin also has a lot of deals with the azerbaidjani dictator Aliev.

"Why united Korea?"

It's actually a united DPRK. A stronger pro-chinese state without american military bases would be ideal for Putin's regime.

"Why united China/Who united China?"

As you may guess, it's the PRC. A stronger ally is in Russia's best interest. Btw I plan to do "What Xi Jinping wants" soon

"Why [middle-eastern country] not as friendly?"

I didnt wanted to add every single middle-eastern country as friendly so I only added Iran and his sphere of influence.

Description
The title says it all. I'm gonna do similar maps with other dictators. As they are plenty of dictators this will (sadly) be a long series. The sources I used came from various speeches from Vladmir Putin or his supporters.

I also remind you that Putin's crazy ambitions do not reflect my political beliefs. Autoritarianism is humanity's curse and only leads to war, misery and death.

EDIT: I've seen a lot of comments outraged by this map, claiming it is "unrealistic" or "exagerated". I remind you that this map is supposed to be the "worst case scenario" or the "ultimate ambitions" of a dictator, here Putin. I know that he would be satisfied with less of that and that all those claims are not official, but that's not the purpose of this map. So I'm gonna answer frequently asked question because I don't want to loose my time answering every single comment with the same answer.

"Why so much of eastern Europe?"

I'm gonna start from north to south. First Svalbard. It's an archipelago rich of ressources and could widen Russia's claim on the Arctic.

Åland and Gøtland: Russia had kind of a "geopolitical trauma" when it comes to Sweden (a bit like Poland), which means that despite the size of their rival being reduced compared to centuries before, Sweden is still seen as a threat. Controlling those islands means controlling the Baltic, and especially Sweden.

Baltics: This is well known. Putin unofficially declared the declarations of independence of the Baltic States "illegal". He also regularly speaks of "liberating the russian minority".

Belarus: They is litterally an ongoing process of integration of Belarus into the russian federation.

Ukraine: do I really need to explain?

Poland: Putin and Lukaschenko have mentionned several times the idea of an annexation of the Suwalki corridor, a link through Poland and Lithuania to the exclave of Kaliningrad. Russia also has a geopolitical trauma from Poland, and his panslavist and eurasianist ideas make possible that he wants to put an end to an independent polish state in his ideal world order.

Moldova: Lukaschenko accidentely revealed a strategic map where the transdniestrian army was suppose to invade Moldova.

Romania: it would be to help his puppet Orban to gain territory and also to control Black Sea Ports. It also would be a direct link to Serbia/Yugoslavia.

Bulgaria: Same as Romania, access to Black Sea Ports, Black Sea oil pipes and a border with Turkey.

Greece: this is more of a symbolic claim. It would justify Russia's successor of Rome or the Byzantine Empire as opposition to Greece. It would also give them an access to the mediterranean and they could gain better supply to Syria.

"Why big Turkey/why no Tsarigrad?"

Putin is not a tsar. He is maybe crazy and megalomaniac, but he has some diplomatic pragmatism. Today, Turkey plays a bit both sides in foreign relations (I plan to make the "What Recep Tayip Erdogan wants" - map soon). They are pipelines which connects both countries. It is far more advantagous for Putin to have a friendly turkish government rather than to directly control such a populated country like Turkey, especially Istanbul with his 16 million inhabitants.

"Why no big Armenia/why big Azerbaidjan?"

A deal from the ministry of defence of the russian federation as revealed that they is a plan to divide Armenia between the russian and turkish zone of influence. Putin also has a lot of deals with the azerbaidjani dictator Aliev.

"Why united Korea?"

It's actually a united DPRK. A stronger pro-chinese state without american military bases would be ideal for Putin's regime.

"Why united China/Who united China?"

As you may guess, it's the PRC. A stronger ally is in Russia's best interest. Btw I plan to do "What Xi Jinping wants" soon

"Why [middle-eastern country] not as friendly?"

I didnt wanted to add every single middle-eastern country as friendly so I only added Iran and his sphere of influence.