, Columnist
Of Course Putin's Heroes Are Too Good to Be True
His attempt to glorify Ivan the Terrible and other historical figures isn't going so well.
The Ivan formerly known as Terrible.
Photographer: Sergei Savostyanov/TASS via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
For most of his 17-year reign, Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn't much of an ideologue: He focused on the economy and on recentralizing power. But during his latest term as president, and especially since the 2014 Crimea annexation, Putin has made an effort to create an ideological basis for his newly assertive global stance -- and a pantheon of heroes to match. The effort, as has often been the case in Russia, is based on revisionist history.