The unwillingness of Russians to make a sharp break with the Soviet past and accept that Russia today is "a new independent state" and the efforts of Vladimir Putin and his regime to present Russia as a country with a single unbroken history has left Russia without a present or a future but only a past, according to Vadim Shtepa.
The Interpreter: Putin’s Russia is a country without a present or future, only a past, Shtepa says
The number of Russians who would like to see southeastern regions of Ukraine become a part of Russia fell by 10% - from 35% in April to 26% in May.
