This is part 1. For other parts in this series: * Part 2 : More Ukraine [https://thelastredoubt.com/more-ukraine/] * Part 3 : Yes This is a War - In All But the Shooting [https://thelastredoubt.com/yes-this-is-a-war/] For the sake of laying out the filter I'm working through, I'll first lay out the following: Putin is a thug. Given the environment in Russia, how could he not be? He'd have to be effective and ruthless to gain the respect and obedience of the crowd at the top of Russian soc…