The Weakness of Putin’s Economic Show of Force Is Russia’s Reality – Bloomberg

Vladimir Putins appearanceon the third day of the St Petersburg economic forum, the Kremlin promised, would be an extremely important intervention. And it was. The Russian leaders lengthy address, a rarity since the invasion of Ukraine, was a flame-throwing show of defiance and blame-shifting, a remarkable snapshot of a state of mind that leaves little hope for compromise. It was also a staggering display of weakness that even presidential bluster could not mask.

First, the context. Putin has avoided high-profile public speechesover the past four months, keeping his Victory Day speech brief and pushing back other mainstays of his calendar, like his televised direct linequestion and answer session,a multi-hour marathon that is a crucial part of Kremlin political theater and efforts to burnish the presidents image as benevolent patriarch. So itmattersthat he went ahead with the flagship addressat an investment gathering Russia has long toutedas its answer to Davos, the elite Alpine get-together, thumbing his nose at the West.

See the original post here:

The Weakness of Putin's Economic Show of Force Is Russia's Reality - Bloomberg