Alex, we are at the turning point. Russia is too big and too important to be outside the worldwide economy. We need to get out of this malaise as soon as possible. The world needs it. And it is the best option for Russia as well.

I see support for Putin as a misplaced national pride. In Poland, where I grew up, we saw socialism as the system imposed on us by the Soviet Union. But I noticed that it was a matter of national pride for Russians. Their grandfathers fought for that. Many Russians gave their life for the October Revolution to succeed.

The collapse of the Soviet Union was tremendous harm to Russians’ ego. Putin explored that skilfully. He convinced Russians that the same West that was against the Soviet Union is now against Russia.

Russia needs a contemporary version of the 20 Congress. Russians need to be told that no one wants to conquer their country. Then similarly as it was done in the case of Germany and Japan in 1945, Russia needs to join the worldwide community by accepting its current borders and following democratic standards. It will take about one generation in Russia to accept the new normal.

It is imperative that Putin will not be killed in the process, but he and his accomplices will face judges in the Hague as war criminals.