Instead of rejecting Putin’s analogies and parallels as being simply cynical ploys, this essay interrogates and turns Putin’s very analogies with the Balkans upside down. The Balkans – the area which Putin has engaged with analogically often to justify his actions – is the exact area which may highlight Putin’s intentions or, at best, the consequences of his analogical exercises. The Balkans can serve more to analyse what Putin does not say, than what he does say. The essay shows, to some extent, that Putin’s words (analogically) may make some sense when it comes to drawing superficial parallels of foreign intervention either to prevent “genocide” or “crimes against humanity.” However, beyond his words, the essay calls for a focus on his deeds; for it is his deeds that can shed more light on his analogies with the Balkan wars of the 1990s if turned upside down. That is – and the Balkans does serve as an example – the very risk of committing genocide in the name of preventing it. Russia may be heading towards that path.
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