Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Maxim Trudolyubov: Putin’s Evolution
Russian President Vladimir Putin, wearing special glasses, looks on as he visits a laboratory at the Gornyy National Mineral Resources University in St. Petersburg on Jan. 26, 2015. AFP PHOTO / RIA NOVOSTI / MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV
How did Vladimir Putin, the president who promised Russians stability when he first came to power in 2000, become today’s high-stakes gambler, presiding over an economy in crisis and the war in Ukraine? Why do his priorities now center on his political survival, even as the price he is making ordinary Russians pay for it grows out of all proportion?
