In the tormented history of Russia, great collapses are periodically followed by great reconstructions, as political analyst Robert D. Kaplan explains in his book The Revenge of Geography. So it has been from the beginnings of the Kievan Rus, Russia's matrix, born in Ukraine in the mid-9th century and destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century, to the present day with the implosion of the USSR in 1991 and Putin's attempts to rebuild the lost Soviet empire. Putin's well-known opinion on the end of the USSR is as terrible as it is categorical: "It is the greatest tragedy of the 20th century".

Based on such a disturbing premise, Putin is sample firmly ready for action, as demonstrated by the massacre in Chechnya or the intervention in Georgia, and currently with the annexation of Crimea, the pressures on the pro-Russian regions of eastern Ukraine, the adoption of a law allowing Russian speakers to obtain Russian citizenship or the statements of his Foreign Minister on the right to defend Russians wherever they may be.

We are witnessing the most important geopolitical events since the 9/11 attacks. Relations between Washington and Moscow are strained and sanctions and the suspension of Russia's presence at the G-8 have already been imposed. Commentator Timothy Gaston Ash writes that Europe is facing a giant spring: Mother Russia's resentment at seeing its empire diminished.

The recent botched annexation of Crimea has worked out well for Putin for the time being, although the international community would probably have ended up accepting a retrocession treaty with fair guarantees between Ukraine and Russia. What Putin may not be aware of is that his actions are received in Brussels as a blessing in disguise, as they are exactly what the EU needs to relaunch the integration process. The European communities were created to ensure reconciliation, peace and prosperity on the continent and to create a space of freedoms in the face of Soviet expansionism. Europe needed an enemy that was identifiable and detestable for its practices. It already has one: Putin's Russia. The political union that Europe needs is closer. Brussels thanks him.