Putin: The Wannabe "Hero"

Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, recently invited 26 country leaders to a celebration for the 70th anniversary of WWII. Included among the invitees are President Barack Obama, U.K. PM David Cameron, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. All three of whom are not attending this event due to the invasion of the Ukraine and their condemnation of it. The interesting aspect of this event is with the fact that Pres. Putin also invited the renown leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un. This seems to be part of Putin’s plan to increase his influence with the North Korean leader, but it also may be a ploy to spite western nations. Its not like North Korea doesn’t have anything to offer Russia though. A potential trade partnership and oil pipeline would be of benefit to both parties. 

Kim Jong Un’s invitation to this event may have been to spite global powers or to establish a better relationship with him, but I see another possible option. Pres. Putin has had a long history of caring about his place in history, his legacy. He doesn’t want to be seen as the “bad guy” in the grand scheme of things; he wants to be the hero. Putin has been openly opposed to the North Korean nuclear arms program, but rejects how western nations are sanctioning the nuclear arms. The dislike of North Korea by Russia makes this invitation appears less like the beginning of a relationship between the two countries, but more like leur for a trap. I’m not saying Putin is going to use this event to harm Kim Jong Un, but I do believe that he is trying to gain influence in Pyongyang. Putin could be trying to gain the trust of the North Korean dictator in order to ruin him, thereby making him the hero he so wants to be. It may not look like the most probable outcome, but it still has a believeable aspect. While the idea of spiteing western nations and establishing trade relations looks to be the main reason behind Putin’s actions; he may have a separate agenda involving his own image.

Source:http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/20/politics/vladimir-putin-kim-jong-un-russia-north-korea/index.html