The Christian Science Monitor

Why a boring Biden-Putin summit would be just fine by Russia

Russia broke out of lockdown earlier this month to stage a lavish economic exhibition in St. Petersburg, billed as the first big international forum of its kind in the post-pandemic era.

The event featured thousands of vaccinated and COVID-19-tested guests, including 200 Americans and the heads of most major Russian businesses and government ministries. In a rare in-person address, President Vladimir Putin spoke at great length about Russia’s economic and political resilience despite years of being buffeted by sanctions, plunging oil prices, and pandemic setbacks. The subtext throughout was that Russia is still here and recovering from the blows, it will not bow to pressure, and it’s open for business and ready to cooperate in building a new, post-pandemic global order.

Mr. Putin had remarkably little

“Our best hope is that this ... will look boring”Concern in KyivDivisions in the Russian public

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