No dictator rules without a nation’s acquiescence, but in Russia in 2019, President Vladimir Putin has found that acceptance increasingly reluctant. His reaction: an increasing reliance on the stick as the carrot harvest fails to come in.
OP-ED
Leonid Bershidsky: In 2019, Putin couldn’t win back Russia’s love
Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a press conference after a summit on Ukraine at the Elysee Palace, in Paris, on December 9, 2019. - Leaders aim for new withdrawal of forces from Ukraine conflict zones by March 2020, according to a communique on December 9, 2019.
