Back to the USSR for a nostalgic Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin’s nostalgia for the Soviet Union has never been a secret but, post-Crimea, the Kremlin has been actively campaigning for a return to a totalitarian state, writes Owen Matthews.

ON THE face of it, the story sounds familiar: Russian president Vladimir Putin’s nostalgia for the greatness of the Soviet Union, his crackdowns on opponents, his defiant insistence that Russia can make its own way in the world. All these have been constants in his 14-year-long rule.

However, in the few weeks since Crimea was annexed by Russia, Putin has embarked on something that has never been done before. For the first time since the fall of the Soviet Union, the Kremlin is overtly campaigning to cut Russia off from the world.