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December 27, 2012

Russia's New, Unsteady Normal

Brian Whitmore, Radio Free Europe

AP Photo

It was the year everything changed. It was the year nothing changed. A longtime ruler lost his aura of omnipotence, but reclaimed his throne nonetheless. His adversaries grew in stature, but squabbled and struggled to find a common voice. And long-docile citizens woke up and demanded something new, but remained impotent in the face of an overbearing state.

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TAGGED: Vladimir Putin, Russia

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