Are We Seriously Blaming Putin’s Mother For His Invasion Of Ukraine?

There are certain stories you expect to write during a catastrophic politic event. You expect to explain why this is happening, report on the latest news from the ground and maybe, the occasional take on what this all says about the state of the world. What I can’t say I ever expected waking up this morning, was that I would have to write about why Putin’s mother is not to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Because seriously… what?

The allegation comes from actor AnnaLynne McCord – once the star of teen drama 90210 - in the form of a poem posted online… because what else would a chronically online, tone-deaf celebrity do but poetry slam Putin during as missiles are fired across Europe?

‘Dear President Vladimir Putin,’ the poem begins. ‘I’m so sorry I was not your mother. If I was your mother you would’ve been so loved, held in the arms of joyous life. Never would this story’s plight, the world unfurled before our eyes a pure demise of nation sitting peaceful under a night sky.

‘Oh dear Mr President Putin, if only I’d been your mother,’ Anna continues. ‘Perhaps you would hold dear human life and on this night instead of Mother Russia you would call me and I would set your mind quite free with the love only a mother can give, and only a mother can take away…. When holds she doesn’t harm at bay and leaves her boy for the promise of a man, whatever your story Mr President Putin, I can’t imagine how it feels in your heart but I know if I was your mother that would be a start.’

Where to even begin.

Let’s start with the obvious: No, Putin’s mother is not to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. And no, the decision to put countless lives at risk by declaring war could not have been avoided if only he had called his (late) mother instead of giving the command to invade. To suggest so is, quite obviously, farcical. Are we really sat here debating whether the warmth of a mother’s hug could prevent her son from becoming an evil dictator?

Because there is no evidence or even remote allegation that Putin suffered an abusive childhood. Rather, his formative years were darkened by the poverty thrust on Russia after World War II. Putin was born in 1952, his mother, Maria Ivanovna Putina – who died in 1988 – was a factory worker who lost two sons prior to Putin’s birth.

In one archived historic document available on the New York Times website, Putin’s school teacher Vera Dmitrievna Gurevich describes Maria as ‘kind, selfless, the soul of goodness’.

‘She was not an educated woman,’ Vera said. ‘She worked hard her whole life. She was a janitor, took deliveries in a bakery at night, and washed test tubes in a laboratory. I think she even worked as a guard at a store at one time.’

Vera also called Maria ‘courageous’ for deciding to give birth at the age of 41 (to Putin), noting that both Putin’s parents had difficult lives living under Soviet Russia. His father, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin, was drafted into the Society Navy in the early 1930s and severely wounded in 1942. In the same New York Times story, which features an interview with Putin, he describes how his mother almost died of starvation during the war and their standard of living drastically declined after it ended.

Ultimately then, there’s no reason to suggest that Putin’s mother was anything but loving to her son. But even if none of that context applied, why must we bring Putin’s mother into this conversation at all?

A dictator becomes obsessed with power for a myriad of reasons. Sure, a traumatic childhood might make for certain behaviours, but to suggest the blame lies with his mother is ridiculous. Not only does it further burden women by implying our maternal nature has the power to either quell or exacerbate evil, but it completely invalidates the horror Putin has inflicted on the world by painting him as a victim of poor parenting.

Experts have analysed the psychology behind those determined to seek power for decades, but frankly, now is not the time to be hypothesising on what trauma caused Putin to become so steadfast on ruling eastern Europe. His biography paints a much more complex picture of how a man born into poverty, and who once enjoyed the works of philosopher Karl Marx, turned into someone determined to impinge the rights of people in surrounding countries all to re-establish the USSR (which some experts believe is Putin’s ultimate goal – the USSR was comprised of 15 republics prior to its fall in 1991, including Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia and many more.)

What we must do now is demand action from our governments to sanction Russia and support Ukraine, help the citizens of Ukraine in any way possible and most importantly: listen to them. We don’t need tone-deaf poems from celebrities, we need serious, urgent action.

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