Russian President Vladimir Putin's renascent Cold War with the West is partly meant to obscure his country's economic slump. It's a reckless strategy-not least because it's making the slump worse. The consequences for Putin and for global security could be dire. Sending troops into Ukraine in the spring of 2014 marked a major change in Putin's political calculus. Instead of promising Russians prosperity in return for accepting his unchallenged authority, he'd appeal to nationalist fervor. The shift drew attention away from his economic mismanagement, rampant cronyism, and failure to reduce Russia's dependence on exports of oil and gas. Supported by with-us-or-against-us propaganda, it also provided cover for harsher persecution of his critics.
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