Economics Stalled Putin, But He Often Answers Setbacks With Military Threats
[Below are excerpts from an essay by longtime Berlin-based journalist and author Elizabeth Pond. Read her full analysis here.] In the Ukraine crisis, soft economic power last month trumped hard military power for the first time. The threatened meltdown of the Russian economy could push Russian President Vladimir Putin to dial down his undeclared war on Ukraine in return for some easing of Western financial sanctions. . . . Even though the annexation of Crimea gave Putin’s sagging popularity a chauvinist surge at home, Russia’s military juggernaut performed surprisingly …read more
Source: Atlantic Council
