, Columnist
Putin Is Finally Ready to Look Homeward
But his plans to improve ordinary Russians’ lot face formidable obstacles of his own making.
State of the nation.
Photographer: Andrey Rudakov/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Russian President Vladimir Putin knew that, in his state of the nation address, he would have to respond to the steep drop in his popularity since the middle of last year.
So the speech he delivered on Wednesday focused on improvements to welfare, education and health care as well as economic development instead of foreign policy, the area which he previously relied on to sustain his ratings.