Vladimir V. Putin came to the United Nations General Assembly on Monday to demand that Russia be taken seriously and treated as an equal partner by the world’s great powers. In preparation for his visit, Russia in recent weeks has expanded its military presence in Syria, kept quiet in Ukraine, and even stepped back from its domestic antigay campaign — all in the hopes of reclaiming its place at the table.

The Kremlin ultimately succeeded in convincing President Obama to meet with Mr. Putin. But more than anything else, the Russian president succeeded in New York in laying out his worldview for all to hear. He did so earnestly, rarely raising his eyes from his prepared text. After speaking for over 20 minutes, he sat down, his legs uncharacteristically close together. As he waited for the customary round of handshakes to commence, he bit his lip and fidgeted with his watch.

The biggest and most dangerous enemy in Mr. Putin’s world is the United States. So sinister is this enemy that its name cannot be uttered: His speech criticized U.S. behavior without naming the country, referring to the Americans as “those who created the situation” in Syria, and as outsiders who provoked an armed coup in Ukraine.

According to Mr. Putin’s reading of history — in which Russia was instrumental in creating a participatory world order that the United States subsequently flouted — these descriptions make sense. He claimed that the United Nations was founded at the 1945 Yalta Conference, a momentous event that occurred “in our country,” on the Crimean Peninsula. This is a highly selective version of events: the United Nations actually traces its founding to an agreement signed by representatives of 14 governments on June 12, 1941, when the Soviet Union was still an ally of Nazi Germany. In any event, the United Nations does not recognize Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, so Mr. Putin’s reference to “our country” was off base — unless he meant to position himself as a representative of the Soviet Union.