DNA Edit: Stays Put(in)

Vladimir Putin is back in the saddle for the fourth time as the Russian President, silencing his adversaries in the Western world with a thumping mandate from his countrymen.

One can always question the quality of democracy in Russia as the main opposition leader, Alexei Navalny, was barred from the race, but for strongman Putin, the ends justify the means. His larger-than-life image and an aggressive brand of politics have endeared him to people who yearn for a bipolar world where the USSR stood up to American hegemony.

Now China seems to have taken up that role, but Putin can be trusted to do his bit. Understandably, the US reactions, especially from the White House, have been less than effusive since Donald Trump is yet to scrub himself clean of the Russian influence in the Presidential polls.

Be that as it may, Putin is now basking in the glory of a handsome victory that propped him to the highest post with 76 per cent of the vote. His friend, the Chinese President Xi Jinping, has more than made-up for the lacklustre international response by terming his country’s partnership with Russia being at the “best level in history”.

Though Communism is on the decline worldwide, there is no dearth of strong leaders from such ideological persuasion aspiring to change the course of history. One thing is certain: Putin is least inclined to project himself as an apostle of peace or emerge as a hero in the Western narrative à la Barack Obama.

He revels in showing the world that brawn and brains aren’t incompatible. Hence, the UK expelling 23 Russian diplomats from London elicited a tit-for-tat response from Moscow. The US imposing sanctions on a group of Russians over their alleged interference in the 2016 election has only served to burnish Putin’s image.