The argument I've heard that most resonates with me is that Putin did it as protection against foreign-influenced regime change in Russia.
The pipeline was off but functional. To get it back on again, you'd have to either have some meeting of the minds between Putin and Europe (Germany) or make Putin not the head of Russia and then have a meeting of the minds. The more that Putin became convinced that Europe was not going to back down, nor did Putin wish to, the more likely that someone might try to take him out to get it turned back on.
Now that option is off the table. It doesn't improve things for Russia going forward, but it seems to improve things for Putin.
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The argument I've heard that most resonates with me is that Putin did it as protection against foreign-influenced regime change in Russia.
The pipeline was off but functional. To get it back on again, you'd have to either have some meeting of the minds between Putin and Europe (Germany) or make Putin not the head of Russia and then have a meeting of the minds. The more that Putin became convinced that Europe was not going to back down, nor did Putin wish to, the more likely that someone might try to take him out to get it turned back on.
Now that option is off the table. It doesn't improve things for Russia going forward, but it seems to improve things for Putin.
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