Putin’s threat to use nukes is a sure sign his war is failing

A woman from Donetsk region showing her ballot during a referendum in Sevastopol, Crimea, on Friday. Putin is preparing to annex occupied Ukrainian lands via the referendums. – AP

TWENTY-TWO years ago, at the Davos World Economic Forum, when a little-known Vladimir Putin had just become president, I asked four senior Russian leaders: “Who is Mr Putin?”

Seated in a row on stage, all four refused to answer, apparently fearful of their new boss. The audience burst out laughing. Russian TV, in the front row, filmed the whole episode and ran it repeatedly – for years. “Who is Mr Putin?” became a meme that has endured until the present.