Putin Goes Medieval on the Russian Opposition

For the second year in a row, Russian President Vladimir Putin has left it until the end of the year to make a surprising decision concerning a major political opponent. In 2013, he suddenly let former oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky out of prison and allowed him to fly to Germany -- because, Putin explained, Khodorkovsky's mother was dying in a Berlin hospital and they needed time together. Today, a Moscow court handed corruption-fighting lawyer Alexei Navalny a surprisingly lenient 3 1/2-year suspended sentence -- but sent his brother, Oleg Navalny, to prison for the same term.

Putin presents himself as a war leader, and the hostage-taking of Navalny's brother is an act of war in keeping with the rules outlined in the Kremlin's new military doctrine, which lists internal dissent as a "military danger". It's akin to the actions of medieval kings and modern Middle Eastern dictators -- like Henry II of England in the 12th century forcing Welsh ruler Rhys ap Gruffydd to give up his son, or the practice developed by the Assad regime in Syria of grabbing the family members of Muslim Brothers it was hunting.