With the disintegration of the Soviet Union, everyone breathed easier. Russian communists tacitly, and in some cases openly, acknowledged that Reagan was right about the "evil empire." Religious extreme Marxism followed dinosaurs into extinction. Over a dozen countries emerged from behind the Iron Curtain. With his attack on Ukraine, Putin shows himself as a species of dinosaur. He believes that Russia, with a GDP smaller than those of California and Texas, is a world power that deserves special spheres of influence. He believes that Russia's nuclear arsenal allows him to claim a more aggressive role than that of a normal...