http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/0...to-stop-putin/

First, has any debate ever been improved by comparisons to Hitler? It’s the one type of name-calling certain to drive people crazy. We see that happening in Ukraine. The debate about who is a fascist has been part of the political hysteria that may eventually make that country ungovernable.

A second reason to be sparing with the F-bomb is more subtle. The label makes us think we’re talking about politicians and political movements ready for Armageddon. Fascists love throwing themselves on funeral pyres—they seem impossible to deter by ordinary means. But that’s not Mr. Putin (and my guess is it’s not Narendra Modi, the likely new Indian prime minister, either). Mr. Putin often miscalculates–but he does calculate.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opi...329348214.html

Among the "Ten handy phrases for bluffing your way through a conversation about the situation in Ukraine", the British Spectator magazine suggested rather sardonically: "The similarities with Hitler and the Sudetenland/Anschluss/Peter the Great/Stalin and the Tartars/Genghis Khan are striking."
The article makes it clear that "Historical analogies are invaluable to the experienced bluffer, but the amateur must tread carefully."
It follows, "When in doubt, hedge: 'I am not saying that Putin is Hitler, but …' or 'It’s easy to get carried away with these comparisons, but...' Try to look pained, as if contemplating both the complexity and the imminent possibility of human suffering."