Per Leander is a Swedish journalist and the author of two books about the Soviet Union and Russia.
Today, Russians vote in a constitutional referendum designed to give Vladimir Putin a fresh burst of legitimacy. His feeble response to the coronavirus pandemic has ruined his “strongman” reputation — and it’s feeding a growing mood of popular discontent.
The movement in Russia against Putin’s authoritarian government is dominated by one man: the right-wing populist Alexey Navalny.
In the heated propaganda war between Russia and the “West,” rationality is in short supply.