Washington Secrets

Claim: Putin whitewashing history to boost image, feed ego, target U.S.

By Paul Bedard

Published October 7, 2015 2:07pm ET

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Claim: Putin whitewashing history to boost image, feed ego, target U.S. — A man passes by a poster with an artwork showing Russian President Vladimir Putin as Spanish artist Salvador Dali during the "Putin Universe" exhibition in Moscow, Russia. Artists have drawn the Russian president using 30 heroic themes originating from different countries and world epochs at a two-day exhibition in Moscow. Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrates his 63rd birthday on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) | Pavel Golovkin

There’s no question that Russian President Vladimir Putin has a Siberia-sized ego, and to feed it he has started to reinvent his nation’s history to make it appear persecuted by the United States. And he’s even rewriting school history books.

That comes from two top former diplomats with long histories with Moscow: Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga.

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Madeleine Albright Malaysia Airlines Disaster Minusextra Paul Bedard Russia Ukraine Vladimir Putin