, Columnist
Putin's Winning Streak Will Be Hard to Extend
The Russian leader strengthened his hand in 2016, but he hasn't cashed in any chips.
Good luck.
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One might expect Russian President Vladimir Putin to take a victory lap after a lucky 2016. But at his traditional end-of-year press conference on Friday, Putin looked more tired than triumphant. He also appeared eager to steer attention away from geopolitics -- an area in which he has seemingly excelled this year -- to the minutiae of running Russia. That was wise: Putin knows he's received some advances, but he hasn't cashed them in.