Emanuel Macron’s recent interview forced the Russian political class to recollect 1812 when the French army conquered Moscow.
It completely altered the way Vladimir Putin and his base view Russia and the way its patriots think the West perceives Russia.
Vladimir Putin and Russian nationalists/patriots believe Russia's greatness stems from the Western world's fear of Russia.
The Russian majority views the fact that German chancellor Olaf Scholz refused to supply Taurus missiles to Ukraine as confirmation of Russia’s greatness.
Even though the French president avoided using the word “enemy” when describing Russia, an official declaration of Russia as the country which is a clear and present danger to Europe was finally uttered by the head of the major European country - the only EU country which has a nuclear arsenal.
A blow to the heart of the myth of Russia's strength
For far too long, Vladimir Putin benefited from the fact that other countries were afraid of Russia.
However, that widespread feeling of strength and greatness is unsustainable in the circumstances in which Russia spent 2 years trying and failed to conquer the severely underequipped and outnumbered Ukrainian army and a country with a much smaller economy.
Russia is the country which failed to defeat much smaller Chechnya in open combat decades ago. Instead, it was forced to "conquer" it by installing loyal and corrupt Chechen leadership.
French President Emmanuel Macron struck straight at the core of the Russian myth by claiming that France is not frightened of Russia, that it is willing to deploy its soldiers to support Ukraine and make sure that Russia would not push any further, something that Russia undoubtedly intends to do.
Vladimir Putin and Russian patriots got used to the fact that France would never dare to challenge “great” Russia
These new developments confused Moscow. No one in the Kremlin expected it from France, a country more distant from Russia than Germany.
Over the years, Vladimir Putin and Russian patriots got used to the fact that France would never dare to challenge “great” Russia.
In fact, Vladimir Putin is now running on the notion that, because of his "skilful leadership," all Western countries appear to support Ukraine but, in reality, are doing little since all Western countries are afraid of displeasing Russia.
Europeans are no longer afraid
The unpleasant surprise in Moscow following President Macron's interview stems from the long-held perception that there was no risk from that side.
Russia has been interfering in the domestic affairs of Western countries, including France, for far too long.
The Kremlin was advancing Marine Le Pen to prevent the awakening we are now witnessing in French leadership.
Marine Le Pen, for example, was on the Kremlin’s payroll for years. The First Czech Russian Bank from Moscow granted Marine Le Pen a loan of €9,14 million, which she did not repay.
Needless to say, the Russian bank did not expect any repayment from the French right-wing politician.
Putin’s greatest fear is French and other European soldiers deployed in Ukraine to help it defend its sovereignty
French President Emanuel Macron finally said out loud something which had been in the air for years: Stand up and fight. France will no longer tolerate rabid bears over a thousand miles away from its borders.
Vladimir Putin’s greatest fear is French and other European soldiers deployed in Ukraine to help it defend its sovereignty.
This would deprive Putin of the opportunity to bluff. As for the real action – Vladimir Putin would prefer convincing the Russian people of some bizarre and victorious legend of why Russia retreated while being secure in one of his one-billion-dollar palaces.
Putin attacks only those who cannot defend themselves
President Macron has clearly shown that he knows where Russia's weak spots are. He said that he would send his army to Ukraine and that he had no fear of Vladimir Putin.
This also means that the French leader knows that Vladimir Putin will not send his troops to the territory he believes is guarded by significant military force.
Vladimir Putin's argument that he wished to protect NATO growth is false, as are most of the claims he has made publicly or that various Kremlin mouthpieces have been making to the West.
Throughout his entire rule, Vladimir Putin never attacked those he thought could fight back
The Kremlin did nothing about NATO expansion to Finland and Sweden. Similarly, the Kremlin would have done nothing had Ukraine been admitted to NATO during the presidency of George W. Bush. Ironically, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel and the previous French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, were against it.
French president Emanuel Macron was absolutely correct when he suggested that the presence of the French army in Odesa or Kyiv could sober up Russia.
It would prevent Russian aggression and the bombing of civilians in Odesa and Kyiv.
Throughout his entire rule, Vladimir Putin never attacked those he thought could fight back. He attacked Ukraine because he did not expect any resistance due to the incorrect intelligence reports he had received.
Unlike many European leaders before him, the French president understood this significant feature of Putin's rule and responded in a manner most painful for the Kremlin.
