Marc Champion, Columnist

Putin Isn't Crazy, He's KGB

Russia's Vladimir Putin isn't crazy, a born-again nationalist or "in another world." He is a calculating former career KGB officer, who has just carried out an almost perfect operation in Crimea.

March 5, 2014 at 10:00 PM UTC

By Marc Champion

Marc Champion is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe, Russia and the Middle East. He was previously Istanbul bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal.

Pro-Russian forces inspect vehicles on the way to Sevastopol in Crimea. Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images — Pro-Russian forces inspect vehicles on the way to Sevastopol in Crimea. Photographer: Sean Gallup/Getty Images

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On the road to Sevastopol, Russian flags and a Russian Orthodox cross adorn a checkpoint manned by Crimea's pro-Russian civilian defense force. A banner announces: "Where We Are, There Is Russia."

That sentiment explains why we should all be concerned about what is happening in Crimea, even if, as seems increasingly possible, Russia's intervention ends without bloodshed or formal annexation of the peninsula. The banner sets out the principle according to which Russian President Vladimir Putin is establishing that it is his right to intervene on behalf of Russians anywhere, anytime, and thereby determine the fates and policies of other ex-Soviet states.