The Russian story is so transparent that one has to wonder if it was put out there in that form specifically to intimidate would be imitators. Much more elaborate stories, you would think, in Russia, are summarily assumed to come down to political expedience.

How far could Moscow go, with the thinnest of pretense, in ‘rolling the tanks’ into neighboring states, in gunning down critics at home or abroad? It seems they’re using every opportunity to puff up the air of impunity that surrounds them in a strategy to intimidate as many as possible.