Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
James Rodgers: From popular leader to enemy of the West in 15 years
People hold placards depicting Russia's President Vladimir Putin as they take part in a rally and a concert by the Kremlin Wall in central Moscow on March 18, 2015, to mark one year since Russia's President Vladimir Putin signed off on the annexation of Crimea.
The Russian president has been in power in some capacity for 15 years. Is his political autumn finally looming?
Spring came more quickly in the Caucasus. Those first warm days that year made the late winter cold of Moscow seem even more remote, yet the signs of the destructive might of Moscow’s power were all around. The centre of Grozny, the main city in Chechnya at Russia’s southern edge, was so completely ruined that it seemed there was not a single undamaged building left standing.
