Why did Putin block further action on Syria? Was it because Syria represents the last vestige of its old world power base from its communist days? Russia is a spent force in the new China-India-American axis. Her media hardly covers the Syrian civil war and yet Putin will not concede that his policies are causing real harm. And when the war is over Russia will have lost its influence there for good.
Then there are all these show trials and arrests for people wanting to protest peacefully......
Stalin must be smiling in his grave.