(Newswire.net — January 2, 2020) — CNN has published an extensive report on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s moves this year. According to the report, 2019 was an extremely good year for authoritarian leaders, especially for Putin.
In the report, it is estimated that Putin had an extremely good year in the battle of ideas on the global stage and recalls that he excited the world public in June by “declaring the death of Western liberalism”. CNN says that Mr. Putin continued to set an example for authoritarian leaders all around the world.
An example is his policy towards weakened and marginalized political opposition in the country, especially during much of the summer when Moscow was shaken by a wave of opposition demonstrations.
CNN notes that for some time the protesters seemed to be gaining momentum and recalls that Russian authorities have even withdrawn criminal charges against a respected investigative journalist after massive public support. However, according to the US media, more severe punishment of the opposition followed, including the imprisonment of leading opposition leaders and more than 2,000 protesters.
The report published by CNN says that Russia has begun to show willingness to tighten control of its citizens on the Internet as well as on the streets. It is noted that in May, Putin signed a law establishing a so-called “sovereign internet” that could operate independently from the rest of the world.
According to CNN, the law obliges all Russian Internet service providers to install special equipment to allow the use of “in-depth package review”, which involves a type of data processing that is used to monitor and censor Internet traffic. The new law came into force in November, making Russia a leader in authoritarian technology, CNN reports.
It is no surprise to CNN that Putin sided with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the China-US conflict over US President Donald Trump’s decision to block Huawei’s involvement in the development of the US 5G network over concerns about espionage.
At the annual International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Putin said that the US actions increase the risk of the outbreak of a technological war. It was later stated that Putin and Xi had other reasons as well to team up. He recalled that Beijing was criticized for its detention centers in Xinjiang and for its rigid response to the demonstrations in Hong Kong, but none of those criticisms came from Moscow.
CNN writes that on the international scene, Putin has found common ground with some other authoritarian leaders in the world, especially Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro.
The report recalls that the Russian president visited Maduro in September to express his support. Next month, he visited Saudi Arabia to showcase an oil partnership with a longtime U.S. ally.
As one of Putin’s problems, CNN highlights conflicts in eastern Ukraine, where Russian-backed separatists continue to fight the Ukrainian government.
CNN admits that, unlike the Trump administration’s problems with Ukraine, Putin does not have to worry about impeachment. It’s not like he has no opinion on it, however: at the December annual news conference, Putin seemed to copy Republicans’ key views, saying the impeachment on U.S. President Donald Trump was based on fabricated reasons and he expressed doubt that Trump would be impeached.