#1 Both Putin and Hitler abused democracy
It does sound a bit dramatic when we put it like this, but this is the easiest way to describe what the two dictators are actually doing. Back in the day, kings used violence to rise to power. If your army was the biggest, strongest, or best prepared, you would be guaranteed to be able to take over someone else’s state or reclaim your own. However, in modern days, this is not how people end up at the helm of countries.
Dictators use democratic mechanisms to rise to power, then exploit corruption and disguise their intentions as democratic in order to transform republics into one-party states that contradict everything democracy stands for.
Hitler had one attempt at becoming the ruler of the republic, but he failed before he actually managed to become the dictator. He managed to make the most of the political and economic situation of his time during the woes of the First World War in order to get himself elected as Chancellor. And what was the thing that he did first? Hitler made it illegal to be politically opposed to him and made sure to turn his reign into a full dictatorship!
Putin’s story and rise to power are a bit different and less spectacular. But the parallels are absolutely chilling when we look at them! He had also gained notoriety in the military, being part of the KGB (their version of the CIA), and he also first became Chancellor before he ended up being appointed President. And he was appointed president only because someone else feared criminal prosecution, which would have covered his tracks.
Since then, Putin has made sure to keep his position no matter what, even changing the constitution and stuffing ballot boxes to appear legitimate, all while making sure all dissidents are as silent as possible. Chilling right?
