A woman stands in front of law-enforcement officers during a rally in support of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny in Moscow on Jan. 23, 2021. EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/Reuters
Chris Alexander is a former minister of citizenship and immigration who previously served in the Canadian embassy in Moscow, including as deputy head of mission.
Vladimir Putin is in trouble.
His first decade as president saw rising wages offset by vanishing freedoms. His second was dominated by military adventures to distract from economic stagnation at home.
But in recent years, his dark strategy has faltered. Last year, Moldova elected a president who supports the European Union; pro-democracy protests spread across Belarus; and Russian influence in Ukraine declined even further.
Now, Mr. Putin is facing his toughest opponent yet in Alexey Navalny, the Kremlin critic who survived a nerve-agent attack on his life and was arrested on his return to Russia on Jan. 19. In response, tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets, following a recent example – five months of rolling protests in Belarus – which together may comprise the gravest threat to Mr. Putin’s grip on power.
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