Vladimir Putin is frequently portrayed as one of the architects of a 21st-century model of autocracy that is gaining strength globally, even as democracy stumbles in the United States and elsewhere. Events in Russia on Saturday belied that narrative. Tens of thousands of people in more than 100 cities defied freezing temperatures and riot police to join raucous protests against the Putin regime. While the Russian dictator isn’t likely to be toppled soon, the unrest revealed the rotten foundations of his rule — and the opportunity that offers to democratic adversaries.
Mr. Putin’s weakness was revealed thanks to the ingenuity and stunning courage of Alexei Navalny, who survived a poisoning attack by Mr. Putin’s agents in August and then returned to the country just over a week ago to take on his nemesis frontally. As expected, the 44-year-old activist was swiftly arrested. But Mr. Putin surely did not anticipate what came next: Mr. Navalny’s call for demonstrations, coupled with his release of an extraordinary, 112-minute video documenting Mr. Putin’s corruption, including the Versailles-scale palace he has secretly constructed on the shores of the Black Sea. By Monday, the video had accumulated more than 89 million views on YouTube — and thousands of Russians who had never before protested against Mr. Putin had taken to the streets.
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Opinion | Russians just revealed Vladimir Putin’s weakness - The Washington Post
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