I'm Steve Gutterman, the editor of RFE/RL's Russia/Ukraine/Belarus Desk.
Welcome to The Week In Russia, in which I dissect the key developments in Russian politics and society over the previous week and look at what's ahead. To receive The Week In Russia newsletter in your inbox, click here.
As Moscow’s war against Ukraine grinds on and mounting evidence of atrocities by his troops emerges, President Vladimir Putin turns to the false claim that it is a defensive struggle for Russia’s survival.
Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward.
'Pull It To Pieces'
Both before and since he launched the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin has repeated a number of false narratives and groundless assertions in efforts to justify the unprovoked assault.
For example, he has wrongly claimed that Ukraine is run by neo-Nazis, and also that the goal is to protect the people of the Donbas – thousands or tens of thousands of whom have been killed as a result of the invasion, and hundreds of thousands driven from their homes as Russian bombs have destroyed cities and towns. An unknown number have been tortured, raped, or otherwise abused by Russian forces.
This week, Putin turned to one of the biggest or broadest of these narratives, and one that he and other Russian officials have been reaching for with increasing frequency: The claim that the West is bent on tearing Russia apart.
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