A week of many decisions for Mr. Putin 0
President Putin.
CNN believes that every policy decision and move of the Russian leader makes the world pay attention.
Put NGOs in sight
On May 24, Mr. Putin signed a law allowing the government to prosecute non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The US State Department accused this law of being a tool for the Kremlin to target political opponents.
Order a sudden exercise
Moscow deployed 12,000 soldiers, 250 fighter jets and helicopters, and nearly 700 units of various weapons and military equipment in the northwest in a surprise military exercise on May 25.
This could be a way for Russia to show off its strength in response to a European fighter exercise led by Norway called the Arctic Challenge.
Video of Russia’s unexpected military exercises
Russia’s large military exercises worry NATO.
NATO is also not happy when Russia conducts exercises without prior notice.
On May 27, the White House harshly criticized Mr. Putin over the crisis in Ukraine.
However, President Barack Obama has so far hesitated to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons, due to concerns from European allies.
Speak out about the FIFA scandal
On May 27, a series of high-ranking officials of the World Football Federation FIFA were arrested on corruption charges, with the US leading the investigation.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter hands over the hosting rights for the 2018 World Cup to President Putin in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 13, 2014.
The incident took place just a few days before Mr. Sepp Blatter was re-elected as FIFA president.
Immediately, Mr. Putin spoke up.
Russia winning the right to host the 2018 World Cup could be one of the highlight events in Putin’s next presidential term.
There is a lot of pressure to prevent Mr. Blatter from giving the right to host this tournament to Russia, and Mr. Putin said that the US is one of the reasons.
Keep military casualties secret
For many years, the number of Russian soldiers killed in the war was a state secret.
The Kremlin spokesman denied that this move was related to the situation in Ukraine and said the decision was only to protect national interests in general.
