Putin, crusaders and barbarians — Pepe Escobar

Summary:
Backgrounder.The Vineyard of the SakerPutin, crusaders and barbariansPepe EscobarSee alsoIn my view, Amnesty rightly denied to recognize Navalny as a "prisoner of conscience" since his past behavior and previous statements reveal that the man has no conscience. He is an opportunist rather than a defender of rights.But more significantly from the political standpoint, polling backed by a record of  poor performance in elections in which he participated show that he has very little support in Russia, while Putin has approval numbers that Western leaders can only dream about. The West is betting on the wrong horse.IrrussianalityAmnesty, and the Failure of the Navalny RevolutionPaul Robinson | Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of

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