Putin warns of the ‘red line’ West will regret crossing
MOSCOW >> He warned ominously of “red lines” in Russia’s security that, if crossed, would bring a powerful “asymmetric” response. He reminded Western leaders once again of the fearsomeness of his country’s modernized nuclear arsenal. And he boasted of Russia’s moral superiority over the West.
Yet even as President Vladimir Putin lashed out at foreign enemies real or perceived in a state-of-the-nation speech Wednesday, tens of thousands of Russians defied a heavy police presence to pour into the streets to challenge his rule. In Moscow, some gathered across the street from the Kremlin to chant, “Go Away!”
It was a snapshot of Russia in the third decade of Putin’s rule: a leader facing an increasingly angry and desperate opposition but firmly in power with his country’s vast resources and huge security apparatus at his disposal.
Faulted for a lagging response to the coronavirus and with his popularity ratings declining, though still high, the Russian leader used the address to outline a vision for Russia as it emerges from the pandemic, one that promised numerous new economic subsidies but was silent about political rights.
And in recent weeks, he has seemingly fallen back on a tried and true tactic to bolster his fortunes: fanning nationalist flames.
He has ordered an enormous troop buildup on Russia’s border with Ukraine and has gone toe to toe with President Joe Biden, who issued a new round of sanctions last week, undeterred by Putin’s saber rattling in Ukraine. Putin portrayed Russia as harried by Western nations for years with hypocritical criticism and sanctions. Punishing Russia, he said, has become a “new sport” in the West, and he was running thin on patience.
While he pledged Wednesday that he still wanted “good relations with all participants of international society,” he said that if Russia is forced to defend its interests from any security threats its response would be “fast and tough.”
But there were signs that a public wearied after two decades of Putin’s rule was increasingly tuning him out. That was evident on the streets of Russia’s cities Wednesday evening, as rallies to protest the prison treatment of the prominent opposition leader Alexei Navalny seemed to be mushrooming into something more.
Chanting “Freedom for political prisoners!” and “Down with the czar!” demonstrators gathered across Russia’s 11 time zones, a showing that mirrored the nationwide turnout at a wave of protests in January.
Thousands were arrested at those protests this winter, which came after Navalny’s return to Russia from Germany, where he had been treated for poisoning with a chemical weapon.
While it appeared riot police sought to avoid scenes Wednesday of brutality that could cast a shadow over Putin’s speech, the police did detain nearly 1,500 demonstrators nationwide.