Essay As the Tide Turns Against Putin, Beware the Drowning Man Like a struggling swimmer, he may take desperate measures to stay afloat. June 25, 2026, 4:16 PM By Peter Frankopan, a professor of global history at the University of Oxford. An illustration depicting a man submerged up to his nose in water. The wavy water is divided horizontally into three color bands that mimic a flag: white foam at the very top peaks, a deep blue middle section filled with bubbles, and a red lower section covering his neck and suit jacket. His blue eyes look upward with a...