JRL NEWSWATCH: “Why the World Cup is bigger than Putin; ‘I can write about the genius of French forward Kylian Mbappé, knowing the FT is also covering Russian elite corruption'” – Financial Times/Simon Kuper

“…  the Russian World Cup isn’t Berlin all over again. First, Putin isn’t as evil and ambitious as Hitler. Second, he’s a much better-known quantity than Nazism was in 1936. Hitler at that point had said disturbing things but few foreigners took him either literally or seriously. He hadn’t lifted a finger against other countries. Many Jews were still living in Berlin – though the Nuremberg Laws of 1935 had deprived them of most of their rights. But in a time of weak information flows, Hitler could still charm foreigners. By contrast, we know Putin from 18 years in power, invasions, election meddling and the destruction of Grozny and Aleppo. And we probably understand propaganda better now. … war has changed. … fought by hackers, drones and small groups of mercenaries. … I hope I wouldn’t have covered the Berlin Games. Yet I mostly feel comfortable covering this World Cup, which (like Russia itself) is bigger than Putin. …”

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