One year after Vladimir Putin sent Russian troops into Ukrainian territory, intense anti-Western rhetoric remains in place to justify the conflict. This rhetoric dates back to Ukraine's Maidan Revolution of 2014 and the Orange Revolution of 2004. Historian Francoise Thom, an expert on post-communist Russia, spoke with FRANCE 24 outlining the significant events that began this war.

The Orange Revolution centered around the 2004 elections in Ukraine, where candidate Viktor Yanukovych, backed by Putin, lost the popular vote to a pro-European candidate named Victor Yushchenko. This was a "humiliating ordeal" for Putin, according to Thom, and led to a level of paranoia that placed the blame for Yanukovych's loss on interference by the United States. Although Putin had already been vocal against NATO and the West, Ukraine's heavy pro-European leanings solidified this anti-Western rhetoric.

Since the beginning of the