“Putin is neither crazy nor paranoid”

Can we celebrate Russian defeat if it means young people dying at the front? Why do people like to go to war so much? And why does Vladimir Putin (70) like to go to war so much?

Boris Cyrulnik answers some of these questions in his latest book “Le laboreur et les mangeurs de vent”, which was published this year in French by Odile Jacob. Blick reaches Cyrulnik at ten in the morning. We just have time to greet each other across our screens before the screen freezes. The conversation continues with a phone call to the South of France.

Blick: Boris Cyrulnik, you are a psychoanalyst. Have you tried to understand the psyche of Vladimir Putin, who is often called “crazy”?
Boris Cyrulnik: Yes of course. I met, among others, Vladimir Federovsky, a Russian diplomat and writer of Ukrainian descent who worked with Putin. As a result, Putin is neither crazy nor paranoid. He had a difficult childhood with learning disabilities. Through sports and judo, he managed to save himself from crime halfway through. But his love of fighting and his impulsive personality have remained deep within him.

This contradicts many other analysts.
Just saying someone is crazy doesn’t explain anything, on the contrary. It even stops you from thinking about it. In France, there are countless people with mental illnesses who do not cause war.

But they are not in power.
Putin managed to get to the top of the state. He wanted to restore Russia’s reputation, which had been humiliated by the fall of the Berlin Wall and economic ruin. It is similar to Germany: the humiliation caused by the Treaty of Versailles in 1918 enabled the rise of Hitler.

But doesn’t Putin have a psychopathic urge to control other people’s lives?
Yet. Putin has an empathy disorder. Like many soldiers, many politicians and many managers of large companies who do not hesitate to put toxic products on the market to make more money. But that doesn’t start a war.

Why is Putin going to war?
Out of his desire to restore the great Russia and make amends for the humiliation suffered. You should also remember that he was previously allowed to take Crimea, destroy Syria and fight the Kurds without delaying him diplomatically. He probably assumed it would be the same for Ukraine.

When we last spoke, you spoke of hope. The pandemic had lost its horror, it took a few days for Putin’s troops to invade Ukraine. What mood are you in today?
I think we are at a turning point in history. If Putin annexes Ukraine, we will enter a period of endless wars. We will all pay for it economically – Ukraine, Russia, China, but also France and Switzerland.

How can it be psychologically explained that people go to war?
People are afraid of doubt and need certainty. They are less afraid if they can develop a sense of belonging. It is reassuring when everyone speaks the same language, believes in the same God and has the same ideas about society.

Until then, it’s not a war.
The presence of another community can quickly create fear and hatred. This fear and hatred are the reasons why conflicts can break out and people in war can kill without guilt.

Is it normal to rejoice at the Russian defeats?
Yes, we always have. I am happy with Russian defeats. Because if Putin wins, there will be a thousand wars in the world. But I am not happy about the death of Russians. In a country at war it is the other way around: you kind of rejoice at the deaths of men and women who die in battle.

Your parents died in the Holocaust, you barely escaped. Her father was Ukrainian. Do you recognize yourself today in the Ukrainian children in Kiev and Mariupol?
I recognize myself in all persecuted children. After World War II, I even identified with all the persecuted in the world. This is my personal commitment.