Vladimir Putin

Addressed directly by Mendel in an emotional plea to stop the war and drone attacks.

“Yeah, no, I agree. It's like telling us that Iran's gonna get a nuclear weapon in three weeks, you know? Telling us that for 25 years, at a certain point, I don't believe you. Um, so you have asked to end with a message to the Russians, to Vladimir Putin, Russ…”

Mentioned as the leader Zelenskyy promised to negotiate with and later allegedly promised not to join NATO.

“You know, one thing is that he has been escalating the rhetoric. Another thing, you know, I was present at his meeting with Vladimir Putin in 2019 in Paris. There were very few people near him who knew the truth. He had private conversation with Putin where he…”

The Russian leader whom the Office of the President of Ukraine refuses to engage with.

“And Office of the President was very much against it, and Office of the President of Ukraine even organized a media campaign saying that it is absolutely morally impossible to talk to Russia, to Putin. We need just to pressure. No negotiations with Russia. You…”

Mentioned as a party to the war and a strategic actor in the conflict against Zelenskyy.

“... two reels. These are trends, and they're going viral, and this is the way how people are trying to shout out, "We are desperate. Please stop this war. Please stop this nonsense. Please stop this autocracy." There is no reason why to fight this war. It's se…”

Mentioned as the leader responsible for the Russian invasion and described as evil.

“But this war is not black and white anymore. It's dark and even darker. We just see Putin as an evil, but Zelensky is also an evil. He's just a hidden one. He plays such a teddy bear, you know, on camera, but then when the light goes off, he's a grizzly bear, …”

Mentioned as the leader to whom Zelenskyy initially promised Ukraine would not join NATO.

“So just to go back to something you said earlier that I should have followed up on. When you were, uh, working for Zelensky, he told Putin, I think you said it was 2019, that Ukraine would not join NATO. Then you fast-forward a couple of years, three years, an…”

Described as a former KGB/FSB agent who became an imperial dictator unexpectedly.

“Human nature is a constant, but there is so much accident in history and so many random things happen that you can sometimes predict how people will react, but you can't necessarily predict exactly what's coming. You know, when Boris Yeltsin was drunk and sick…”

Used as an example of a leader who cannot be publicly criticized without risk of arrest.

“Well, because they have no way of expressing what they think. There's no such thing as public opinion or public debate. There's no f- there's no forum you can join where you can say what you... You could express your views in a way that's fair. And, and if you…”

Mentioned as a leader fearful of street revolutions and democratic movements within his sphere of influence.

“ideas. So let's go back to autocracy and democracy. You know, if you are the leader of Russia or you're the leader of China, what is the thing that is most threatening to you? And the answer is the language of liberal democracy. So all this stuff that we find …”

Mentioned as an example of a leader who has held power for two decades in Russia, contrasting with the democratic ideals of the United States.

“that could never happen in America, and that's obviously a bias that I have being 33 years old and not knowing a ton about history. But there's, I'm sure l- there's lots of people that think this is some sort of theoretical idea, but it would never happen in A…”

Mentioned as an autocrat who wants citizens to stay out of politics.

“Um, and so it's really important that we vote, that we know who we're voting for, that we vote in all elections, including local ones. When people become nihilistic, when they say, "They're all the same. I don't care who wins the election. It's not worth votin…”

Described as actively restricting access to Western social media and shaping the Russian information space.

“All dictatorships seek to control information. You know, in China, the entire internet since the 1990s has been constructed so that the government can control it.There is no outside internet. There is n- there is nobody who's active on the Chinese internet who…”

Used as an example of an authoritarian leader who controls oligarchs.

“Uh, yeah, like, like in Russia with the oligarchs, Putin could decide-”

Mentioned as a world leader who attended the 2007 G8 summit at the hotel where Alastair Campbell is staying.

“Exactly. So I think you've cheered me up quite a lot there. I've got to say, Roy, you took the mickey out of my nice dinner. This, we disc- Fiona and I booked into this hotel, and we discovered that on this site was the 2007 G8 summit. So Putin was here, and T…”

The target of an eye roll by Angela Merkel at a G20 summit.

“Soon Rebecca was poring over historical footage for eye rolls, like in home movies going back to the 1970s, and looking for them also in online videos. There was Kate Middleton rolling her eyes at a charity event in New York. There was Angela Merkel eye rollin…”

Mentioned as the leader of Russia whose regime the US is attempting to weaken or overthrow.

“And they just went ahead and did all of these things. And in fact, they were doing... They were messing around... It, it was actually the last year of Trump that they, uh, tried to overthrow Belarus. Uh, so that was independent of, of Biden's wishes. That was …”

His declaration of war is analyzed in the context of his view that Ukraine had become a colony of the United States.

“we do, all of the people who are now telling us, 'That'll never happen. Don't worry about it,' will then say, 'Aha. See? That's how the Russians are. That's why we have to do this.'" Which is exactly what they say now. "See? The Russians are coming. That's why…”

Described as a stand-in for Trump in the eyes of angry liberals and as the leader of the country that initiated the invasion.

“Um, and it was. They just switched from night to day on that, and then, yeah, the other thing... And, look, a big part of that is Putin is a great stand-in for Trump. If you're a angry liberal something, you gotta be angry at something, and he represents... No…”

Used as a comparison to illustrate the unusual nature of having a dedicated lobbyist representative for a foreign country.

“Well, I have Republicans who come to me on the floor and say, "I wish I could vote with you today. Yours is the right vote, but I would just take too much flak back home." And I have Republicans who come to me and say, "That's wrong what AIPAC is doing to you.…”

Cited as an example of a foreign leader who was not swayed by Donald Trump's flattery during diplomatic engagements.

“So two things. One, everything you just said is exactly right and applies to what Trump has done with Putin too.”

The person Dana White assumes Donald Trump called to facilitate the release of the imprisoned woman.

“He called Putin, I, I would assume.”

Mentioned as the leader who interpreted U.S. inaction in Syria as an opportunity to move into Ukraine.

“I certainly agree that it would happen, and it did happen. I mean, Obama said we have a red line in Syria after Assad used chemical weapons in twenty thirteen. He then backed off pretty ignominiously. We thought that was terrible. I think we were right, incide…”

Mentioned as the banker at the Car Talk Plaza poker games.

“The banker at Car Talk Plaza poker games is Nikolai Putin.”

Mentioned as a world leader who is not typically seen wearing a hat.

“No. Putin doesn't-”

His invasion of Ukraine is identified as a primary cause of the significant energy shock affecting the UK.

“... for half a century with Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and we knew that defense spending was utterly inadequate because of, you know-Putin's imperialism and the threat that he was posing to, to, to Europe. You know, in the run-up to the general election, whe…”

Mentioned as a threat driving the need for closer defense cooperation with Europe.

“... or the European single market, he basically said, no, no, there, there are new ways of somehow getting commercially close to E- Europe. Well, hmm, maybe there are. Um, I mean, I do think that we now have quite a lot of leverage with Europe because the thre…”

Referenced as the individual responsible for the conflict in Ukraine.

“I will look at the Syrians and say, "That is not right." I will look at the Ukrainians that are, were being butchered endlessly by Putin and say, "That's pissing me off," and on and on.”

Mentioned as an example of a leader who is not democratically elected in the context of global power dynamics.

“Like, Putin's not really a democratically elected-”

Mentioned as a nefarious figure.

“He is a nefarious figure, and so, I know, so Putin close and just the whole thing. The whole... Every bit of Nigel Farage is awful. I, I don't know where to turn in that way. Anyway, we should get to the news. Um, this is a really interesting story I, I though…”