Humiliation Leading to Development of Individual Principles

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Introduction
Vladimir Putin has been ranked as one of the world’s remaining dictators because of his evident forceful rule in Russia (Connolly 12). His actions have led to the comparison of him to Hitler who also enforced his rule in Germany about eighty years ago. The recent developments in Russia and the incidents that occurred in Germany compare greatly to the leaders’ initiative. This paper sets out to explain the various ways through which the two dictators have become some of the most renowned rulers of their time.
Annexation
Adolf Hitler was a powerful man. He had Germany and almost all of Europe under his rule within the 1930s. One of the things that he did which relates to Putin was the annexation of Austria that happened in 1938. Putin also annexed Crimea in 2014 (Grant 69). The two events are similar in that they both used ethnic discrimination to propel the agenda of their apparent rule. Putin repressed those who supported the Ukrainian president while Hitler repressed the Jews through his actions. Both cases also involved the use of a referendum which was cautiously staged (Grant 70). The outcome in both cases was the votes coming out in favor of the annexation. The referendum votes were undoubtedly staged so as to seem as if it was done the legitimate way. However, the decisions were already made. Both the rulers responded to the outcome of the annexation as welcoming Austria and Crimea home respectively.
Humiliation Leading to Development of Individual Principles
The two rulers also suffered some humiliation through serving their countries. This factor led to the development of their principles that propelled them to be leaders (Reiermann 31). Putin was a KGB officer when the Soviet Union collapsed. Even though he served his country well, she was still aligned to the West and was involved in joining the European Union. All this was humiliating for Putin because of the presence of Western organizations in the region that Russia considered to be its sphere. Hitler’s humiliation came at the expense of Germany getting restrictions on its sovereignty after World War 2. The treaty of Versailles was the determining factor of the fate of Germany and it was left crippling in the form of payments for reparation. Both men in these cases took their humiliation personally and created a sense of national sentiment (Reiermann 31). They got the mandate from their past experiences to return their countries into their former glory. Each of their principles guided them to leading their nations in the eventual future thus earning themselves places in the record books.
Opinion on Western Culture
The two leaders have a similar disregard for the Western culture (Connolly 12). Nazi Germany had no tolerance for the arts and artists, particularly American jazz artists. Russia under the control of Putin only focuses on homophobic laws (Connolly 12). He is a major figure in the exclusion of American decadence morals in Russia. They prosecute any form of lax moral standards presented to them by countries from...