(CSM) Moscow — Russia is like a bear prowling on its own territory, Vladimir Putin told about 1,200 journalists assembled in the Kremlin for his annual marathon press conference Thursday. The bear would prefer to just sit around eating berries and honey, bothering no one and hoping to be left alone.
But, alas, that is not to be, for hunters – the West – will always seek to catch it and chain it up, Mr. Putin said. "As soon as they succeed in doing so, they tear out his fangs and his claws, and then the bear is no longer necessary. He'll become a stuffed animal." […]
"It was something like a collective therapy session. Putin is very good at that," says Nikolai Petrov, a professor at Moscow's Higher School of Economics. "He mostly ducked the hard questions, and offered almost no specifics. So, it may have worked as an exercise in mass hypnosis, but not much else."
See the full article ("Putin: Russia just has to tough out economic storm (+video)") © The Christian Science Monitor
