It was 2014, and Vladimir Putin was in poor form. His approval rating had fallen by 20 percent three years earlier, when he announced he would return to the Kremlin after four years as prime minister. In Moscow, the largest street protests since the 1990s erupted. Putin successfully cracked down on them, but, after that, his rating still hovered around 60 percent — a historic and unacceptable low.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Mikhail Fishman: How the annexation of Crimea guides Russian policy
People wave Russian national flag as they celebrate the third anniversary of the annexation of the Crimea by the Russian Federation in Sevastopol on March 18.
