Dorcha Lee: Russia is experienced in consolidating control

A man shows a poster in support of the Ukraine as he attends a demonstration along the street near the Russian embassy to protest against the escalation of the tension between Russia and Ukraine in Berlin, Germany.

The Russia-Ukraine crisis has entered a new and dangerous phase after Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising the two separatist-controlled areas in the Donbas districts of Luhansk and Donetsk as independent republics.

Just before Putin’s address to the Russian nation on Monday evening, he held a cabinet meeting which was also broadcast on Russian TV. Each member of the cabinet individually called on the president to sign the independence decree. The choreography of the meeting sent a powerful message across Russia and around the world. The image of the cabinet evoked the memory of the Central Council of the Supreme Soviet, while Putin presided over the scene just like a czar. In drawing together two strands of Russian history, Putin has placed himself at its very centre.