, Columnist
Vladimir Putin, President of the Land of Make Believe
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On May 7, a black motorcade carried Vladimir Putin to his inauguration as Russia's president through a capital city that looked like a ghost town. Police had cleared the streets of all traffic and pedestrians after a violent resurgence of protests the day before. It was an inauspicious start of a third term for Putin, who is still bent on acting as if his opponents do not exist.
Nobody expected the demonstration of May 6, called the "March of Millions," to be a big event. The opposition had planned it, and the authorities had sanctioned it, soon after Putin won the presidential election in March. Poor turnout at demonstrations in the interim had lowered expectations.