Few themes have featured as prominently in Kremlin propaganda about the war in Ukraine as the supposed persecution of Russian speakers there. It is ironic, then, that Russian President Vladimir Putin has done more harm to the language’s standing than perhaps any other leader in at least a century.
Russia’s veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution extending oversight of sanctions on North Korea ends what had been a geopolitical consensus.
Having failed in protecting the Russian population—a hallmark of President Vladimir Putin’s political brand—Moscow now seems intent on avenging the attack.
