Early in his war against Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin of Russia appeared tense, angry and even disoriented. He spent days out of the public eye, threatened the West with nuclear strikes, and lashed out at anti-war Russians as "scum.”
But in June, a new Putin emerged, very much resembling his prewar image: relaxed, patient and self-confident.
Holding court with young people, he compared himself casually with Peter the Great, Russia’s first emperor. Addressing an economic conference, he dismissed the notion that sanctions could isolate Russia and crowed that they were harming the West even more. And on Wednesday, he strode, smiling, across a sun-baked airport tarmac in Turkmenistan, slinging off his suit jacket before ducking into his Russian-made armored limousine to head for a five-country summit meeting.