The case of Ukraine, a country under attack from Russia is an indication that the latter never moved on from the events of 1943. From President Putin’s statements, the common factors that stands out is: The Nazis and West.
Back to our history class. In 1942, operation Barbarosa was launched by Germany against the Soviet Union. In this attack, Germany overran the Soviet Union both in tact and manpower. It was only through the mistake of the diversion of the Caucus that Moscow was saved. During this attack, the majority of Europe was under Nazi occupation. Russia was overwhelmed as they had to manage over 90 divisions of the German army. Immediately Josef Stalin appealed to Britain and The United States of America. President Roosevelt was cautious of attacking Germany, as he felt it was not the right time.
Prior to the Normaday attack, Russia had lost in excess of 3.5million people. In 1943, Russia had regained strength and were planning an attack on Germany for the over 25 million lives lost in the previous attacks. The delay in the Normaday attack convinced President Roosevelt that the West did not care, and as such the United States of America embarked on making alliances to save the East. The Easter Europe countries, which were largely communists later came together through the WARSAW Pact.
Russia wanted to stop German dominance by weaking their economy but were stopped by the quest for peace by their neighbors. Since then, Russia remains bitter against the ex-Nazi’s and West front, and anything that spikes them up is worthy of a shot for the country. Today, Putin calls for “Denazification” and “Demilitarization” of Ukraine.