Carnegie Moscow Center
The Russian government may be changing its attitude towards Syria and penalizing the Assad regime for failing to heed Moscow's advice.
In the aftermath of the presidential elections, Putin’s uncertain political position and weakened political strength may prove both a domestic and international limitation.
The fact that the Red Cross has appealed to Putin for authorization to provide humanitarian relief to Syria proves that Russia has become an indispensable player in dealing with the Assad regime.
Putin's economic agenda offers only more of the same heavy-handed policies that have failed to modernize Russia and made the country more vulnerable to external shocks.
Vladimir Putin’s election as Russia’s president may mark the end of the first phase of Russia’s awakening, but the awakening is not over. A restructuring of the Russian political field has just begun.
After the presidential election, which Vladimir Putin won, a significant portion of the population doubts the legitimacy of the election results. These doubts will contribute to the rise of social and political movements in Russia.
Now that Vladimir Putin and his United Russia party have returned to office for the next six years, it remains to be seen how much time he will have for Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin secured his return to power in Sunday’s Russian presidential election. Though that result came as no surprise, the issue of what will come next for Russia is still an open question.
There is no reason to believe that the protests and the problems associated with them will end now that the Duma and presidential elections are over.
While Vladimir Putin’s election to the presidency should not change the course of Russia’s foreign policy, his fate will largely depend on his government’s socio-economic and political performance.