Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev. On Oct. 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin turns 65. By any outward criteria, Putin could afford to let Navalny campaign freely. It's obvious that Russia has weathered the economic consequences of the commodity price collapse and Putin's 2014 break with the West. In other words, everything is going reasonably well -- there are no obvious defeats or failures that could undermine Putin's dominance in Russia.

Source: Daily Sun October 08, 2017 10:41 UTC