‘We Know How to Defend Our Interests’: Putin’s Emerging Hard Line
With an air of moral superiority, the Russian president seems intent on teaching President Biden and other Western leaders a lesson.
President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia at a concert last month marking the anniversary of the annexation of Crimea.Credit.Alexei Druzhinin\TASS, via Getty Images
April 20, 2021, 1:36 p.m. ET
KYIV, Ukraine The world according to President Vladimir V. Putin looks like this: Russia is on the rise while the West is in chaos.
The West, spurred on by a new American president who is more anti-Russian than his predecessor, seeks Russia’s and Mr. Putin’s destruction.
Jan 25, 2021
Moscow – For years, the Kremlin tried to ignore opposition leader Alexei Navalny, right down to avoiding the very mention of his name.
But by Sunday, Russian officials had drastically reversed course.
President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson appeared on a prime-time show on state television and denied Navalny’s assertion that Putin had a secret palace on the Black Sea. On another marquee program, the host devoted 40 minutes to Navalny, who was described as engaging in “political pedophilia.” And the evening newscast showed tweets by Western officials in support of Navalny as proof that he was working against Russian interests.
As Protests Shake Russia, Kremlin Drops Its ‘Navalny Who?’ Tack
A stark shift by the government shows its uncertainty as Aleksei A. Navalny’s dramatic return gives disgruntled Russians a clear leader to rally around.
Tens of thousands of protesters across Russia demonstrated on Saturday in response to the jailing of the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny.Credit.Sergey Ponomarev for The New York Times
Jan. 24, 2021
MOSCOW For years, the Kremlin tried to ignore the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, right down to avoiding the very mention of his name.
But by Sunday, Russian officials had drastically reversed course.
President Vladimir V. Putin’s spokesman appeared on a prime-time show on state television and denied Mr. Navalny’s assertion that Mr. Putin had a secret palace on the Black Sea. On another marquee program, the host devoted 40 minutes to Mr. Navalny, who was described as engaging in “political pedophilia.” And the evening newscast showed tweets by