Advertisement Continue reading the main storyNot least, Russia can ill afford the billions of dollars needed to rebuild the country. Mr. Dugin seemed most eager for Mr. Trump to get on with his promise to “drain the swamp” in Washington, although he worried about the consequences. “It is not so easy to drain the swamp.”Since the inauguration, however, enthusiasm for Mr. Trump in official Russia lurched from cool to uncool seemingly overnight. Some attribute that to the fact that domestic politics are comatose, with Mr. Putin assured of winning another six-year term in 2018. Advertisement Continue reading the main story“Nobody is talking about the Putin election,” said Mr. Chesnakov, the political consultant.

Source: New York Times February 27, 2017 19:46 UTC