How Russia’s election was fixed
As if by magic, Vladimir Putin has another new, obedient parliament
IN MIKHAIL BULGAKOV’s great novel “The Master and Margarita”, set in Stalin’s Moscow in the 1930s, Satan’s mischievous company performs magic tricks in a comedy theatre. It showers the audience with banknotes. People leap and scramble to catch them as they flutter down. Next day, needless to say, they are all worthless.
This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “The conjuror in the Kremlin”
From the September 25th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Europe
Meet Europe’s Gaullists, Atlanticists, denialists and Putinists
As Donald Trump returns, so do Europe’s old schisms over how to defend itself
Inside Europe, border checks are creeping back
Voters and politicians are worried about unauthorised migrants
The EU is worried about sensitive exports to competitors and foes
A lot of bureaucracy will ensue
A day of drama in the Bundestag
Friedrich Merz, Germany’s probable next chancellor, takes a huge bet and triggers uproar
Amid talk of a ceasefire, Ukraine’s front line is crumbling
An ominous defeat in the eastern town of Velyka Novosilka
The French government’s survival is now in Socialist hands
Moderates attempt to move away from the radicals