NPR Gets Putin and Russian Economic Growth and Corruption Backwards

An interview on Morning Edition with Edward Lucas, senior editor at The Economist and author of The New Cold War, likely mislead listeners about the path of the Russian economy and corruption under President Putin's period in power. Lucas implied that Russians are likely to be very unhappy about the current state of the economy and public services and angered over the extent of corruption in the country.

While undoubtedly there is much corruption in Russia under Putin, corruption did not begi...