原文來源：
https://www.ft.com/content/01cdcc3e-22b9-4230-ac11-6c7056098f3f
原文摘要：
Do not mistake Kherson retreat for a crack in Putin’s armour
The act of invasion itself is seen as a victory: it will be as difficult for
the Russian president to lose this war as to win it
不要把赫爾森的撤退誤認為是普京盔甲上的裂縫
入侵行為本身被視為一場勝利：俄羅斯總統輸掉這場戰爭和贏得這場戰爭一樣困難
(略，只取聯合報記者超級精簡版那段)
The fact is that Putin’s supporters do not perceive the invasion of
Ukraine as an act of aggression. For them, it’s a retaliation against the
much more powerful west. Researchers of Russian society are observing a
startling paradox. History puts Russia in a row of vast western colonial
empires. But after its defeat in the cold war, the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the economic hardships of the 1990s, a growing number of Russians
felt they had been reduced to a colony ruled by western forces. They now
believe they are casting off the yoke which so humiliated their country and
“imposed” capitalism upon it.
事實是，普京的支持者並不認為入侵烏克蘭是一種侵略行為。 對他們來說，這是對更
強大的西方的報復。 俄羅斯社會的研究人員正在觀察到一個令人驚人的悖論。 歷史使
俄羅斯陷入一排遼闊的西方殖民帝國。 但在冷戰失敗、蘇聯解體和20世紀90年代的經
際困難之後，越來越多的俄羅斯人認為他們淪為由西方軍隊統治的殖民地。 他們現在
認為，他們正在擺脫羞辱他們國家的枷鎖，並將資本主義“強加於”給它。
In the eyes of dissatisfied Russians, any form of resistance to the
west is a victory, almost regardless of the end result. Even in retreat,
they will console themselves with the thought of having prevented Russia’s
“further enslavement”. This is why there is no direct link between
military setbacks and the weakening of Putin’s power. It is as difficult
for the president to lose this war as it is to win it. Domestically, even
the invasion itself is a sort of victory. Meanwhile, the passive majority
can be convinced that any outcome is the best possible one. And the critics
will be silenced with repression, just as they are now.
在不滿的俄羅斯人眼中，任何形式的對西方的抵抗都是勝利，幾乎無論最終結果如何。
即使在撤退時，他們也會安慰自己，因為他們阻止了俄羅斯的“進一步奴役”。 這就
是為什麼軍事挫折與普京權力削弱之間沒有直接聯絡。 總統輸掉這場戰爭就像贏得這
場戰爭一樣困難。 在國內，即使是入侵本身也是一種勝利。 與此同時，被動的大多數
人可以確信，任何結果都是最好的結果。 批評者將像現在一樣，被鎮壓壓制。
心得感想：
這篇在金融時報發表的文章作者Alexander Baunov
是卡內基國際和平基金會的高階研究員
也是前俄羅斯外交官員
由俄羅斯方面視角看待普丁在這個戰爭中的立場
可以作為一個如何對應俄羅斯方面的參考
至於聯合報那個什麼普亭都是贏家的標題真的看看就好
注意事項：請注意版規內容。