Alexander J. Motyl: Putin, just evil enough
A placard depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin is placed at the Netherlands Consulate in Lviv on July 18, 2014, to commemorate passengers of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.
Vice President Joe Biden recently confided a sensational bit of news to the New Yorker magazine: In a 2011 meeting with Vladimir Putin, he had actually told Russia's then-prime minister that he had no "soul." Even more remarkable was Putin's response. "And he looked back at me, and he smiled, and he said, 'We understand one another.' "
