Western negotiators often believe territory is just a bargaining chip when it comes to peace in Ukraine, but Putin is obsessed with empire-building.
Andrey Pertsev
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"Matthew Rojansky"
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"Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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"primaryCenter": "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
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}As he returns to the presidency, Putin must prove to the Russian protestors that he has heard their voices and demands for reform.
Source: Russia Today

Turning to the protests, Rojansky explained that Putin can no longer afford to ignore this increasingly outspoken constituency and must “show them [protestors] that he has heard their voices.” Putin argues that he brought stability to Russia, but Russian citizens “realize that the work of building the Russian state and building the Russian economy was not on Putin’s back alone,” Rojansky concluded.
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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