Television has been the main tool of his power, his magic wand that substituted a counterfeit image for reality. As Putin’s friend Silvio Berlusconi once said, “What is not on TV does not exist.” Putin took this one step further: things that did not exist could be turned into reality by harnessing the power of television. This alchemical power was displayed vividly both in the annexation of Crimea and in the war in Ukraine.
