Just days later came a searing counterpoint: His vaunted security apparatus failed to prevent Russia’s deadliest terrorist attack in 20 years.
The assault on Friday, which killed at least 133 people at a concert hall in suburban Moscow, was a blow to Mr. Putin’s aura as a leader for whom national security is paramount.
“The election demonstrated a seemingly confident victory,” Aleksandr Kynev, a Russian political scientist, said in a phone interview from Moscow.
“And suddenly, against the backdrop of a confident victory, there’s this demonstrative humiliation.”Mr. Putin seemed blindsided by the assault.
When he did, the Russian leader said nothing about the mounting evidence that a branch of the Islamic State committed the attack.
Persons:
Vladimir V, Putin, “, ” Aleksandr Kynev, ” Mr, Mr, ”
Organizations:
Islamic State
Locations:
Russia, Moscow, Ukraine, Russian, Beslan