Hello again! Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

Trying to get inside Putin's head is not easy; to us in the West his messaging seems chaotic, haphazard and disconnected, but if you know where to look it's possible to discern a thread and give it a tug.

I've written a couple of posts about this - see Sting in the tail, How Putin made Russia into a fascist state, & Fear and Loathing - which I would hope should give you a better grasp of his philosophy and thinking (as I see it).

Belton's book is brilliant - it's one reason why she was sued by a couple of the oligarchs who knew she had got too close to the truth. The last chapter or two about Trump and his many connections to the Russian mob, various oligarchs and Putin himself are particularly interesting, and should certainly give Americans reasons to worry should he avoid prosecution for the Jan. 6th insurrection, and manage to stand again in 2024.

My next post in a couple of weeks will try to show how Trump has adopted the bones of Putin's ideology & philosophy to disrupt American politics & potentially break American democracy with, what I believe are, his unstated aims of turning the US into an authoritarian state and becoming President for life.

Thanks again for your interest!