Source: American Interest
In March, Vladimir Putin showcased himself as the character I like to call the Terminator. He performed this role for the benefit of a global audience, as well as for his opposition inside Russia. In his March 18 address to the Russian Federal Assembly and the public, the one intended to legitimize the Crimea annexation, Putin attacked the United States for “[being] guided not by international law, but by the rule of the gun.” Borrowing a term from Hitler’s lexicon, Putin also berated the “national traitors” inside Russia who refuse to toe the Kremlin line. It was bellicose rhetoric intended to portray the Russian leader as a wartime president addressing his nation in a time of crisis. Putin’s March pronouncements were in line with his 2013 speeches, in which he stated that Russia’s aim was to contain the “demoralized” Euro-Atlantic states.Now let us take a look at what Putin was saying during this April 17 question-and-answer session. He slipped into an entirely new skin, one projecting calm and a congenial nature. He chided his belligerent supporters in the audience. He even surprised many by saying, “Russia’s values do not differ dramatically from European values. We belong to the same civilization.” In a later interview he indicated that there is “nothing that could prevent normalization and normal cooperation” between Russia and the United States. Programs on Russian television stations have begun to preach the virtues of “tolerance” and “discussion.” ...
Read the full text of this article in the American Interest.