Russia's War Against Ukraine
OP-ED
Timothy Garton Ash: Merkel has faced down the Russian bear in the battle for Europe
In 2014, the battle for Europe's future has been fought between two leaders: Russian president Vladimir Putin and German chancellor Angela Merkel. The contrast between them could not be sharper. There the Russian man: macho, militarist, practitioner of the Soviet-style big lie (Russian soldiers in Crimea? What soldiers?), a resentful post-imperial nationalist who in a recent press conference compared Russia to an embattled bear.