Putin, for example, had made his plans apparent by the end of his first day in office: a series of spare statements and legislative initiatives, along with a police raid, showed that he was going to focus on remilitarizing Russia, that he would dismantle its electoral institutions, and that he would crack down on the media. His autocratic attempt—the buildup to actually wielding autocratic power, throwing opponents into jail, controlling media, and eviscerating any political power outside his office—took three or four years, but he had made his objectives clear from the start.*
Glad we had a 🤡. And not a 👨💼 — dead eyed, Cold War fish.
