Putin Triumphs In 2013 Yet Tough Challenges Loom

[Purveyor]

Displaying the killer instincts of a chess grandmaster, Vladimir Putin rang out 2013 with an exceptional list of accomplishments.

The Russian president humiliated the United States by sheltering NSA leaker Edward Snowden, brokered a Syrian chemical weapons deal that averted a seemingly inevitable U.S. military strike and outmaneuvered the 28-nation European Union in the wrestling match for influence over Ukraine.

Putin also surprised both his own people and the world by pardoning his old foe, former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and allowing an amnesty that got two Pussy Riot punk band members and over two dozen Greenpeace anti-oil drilling activists out of prison.

"It's Putin's moment. He should feel quite happy," said Gleb Pavlovsky, a political strategist and onetime adviser to the Kremlin.

But as the 61-year-old leader prepares for his pet project _ the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi _ to begin in February, dark clouds are hovering. Two terrorist attacks in the southern city of Volgograd this week raised the specter of continuing violence in the run-up to the games. In addition, the Sochi Olympics are still dogged by fierce criticism over the Russian law signed by Putin that bans so-called "gay propaganda" for minors.

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http://rapidcityjournal.com/sports/olympics/putin-triumphs-in-yet-tough-challenges-loom/article_33d02336-a6ee-5c0b-9a2d-45bc6b98aa82.html

[tularetom]

1. If there is any kind of incident during the Olympics he looks like an impotent doofus

He does not want to be the guy who could not even guarantee the safety of athletes and other visitors to his country during a world athletic event.

Even Bosnia was able to pull off hosting an Olympics free of any major political disruptions. If Russia is incapable of doing the same, a lot of the glow around Putin will fade.