JRL NEWSWATCH: “Unpredictable Strongman? Two Years Into War, Putin Embraces the Image.” – New York Times
“Vladimir Putin is drawing on history to position himself in the realm of Russian rulers of the past. Critics say his grip on power is not as strong as it seems.”
“… [T]he image of an unpredictable strongman ready to escalate his conflict with the West is one … Putin has fully embraced after two years of full-scale war. At home, the Kremlin is maintaining the mystery over the circumstances of the death … of … Navalny, preventing the opposition leader’s family from reclaiming his body. In Ukraine, [] Putin is pressing … to maintain [Russia’s] brutal offensive …. American officials warn [that] Russia may be planning to place a nuclear weapon into orbit …. In power since 1999, [] Putin, 71, is set to extend his rule to 2030 in … rubber-stamp elections next month. … [H]e is feeding his increasingly overt conception of himself as a history-making leader carrying on the legacy of past rulers … willing to sacrifice untold numbers of lives to build a stronger Russian state. … Putin also faces headwinds: a still-determined Ukrainian resistance, a Western alliance … largely … united and murmurs of discontent in the Russian public. The question is whether [] Putin, as he exults in leading a ‘thousand-year, eternal Russia,’ can avoid … domestic upheaval[,] … a repeated hallmark of the country’s history. …”
Click here for: “Unpredictable Strongman? Two Years Into War, Putin Embraces the Image. Vladimir Putin is drawing on history to position himself in the realm of Russian rulers of the past. Critics say his grip on power is not as strong as it seems.” – New York Times: Anton Troianovski