The writer Peter Pomerantsev has described Russia as a “post-modern dictatorship.” President Vladimir Putin and his friends vividly illustrated that description Thursday when the famed orchestra of St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater played a concert at Palmyra, the archaeological site that Russian-backed Syrian troops liberated from the Islamic State in late March. Not long before the ruins of this once vast city were retaken, Putin had announced a Russian pullback from Syria, claiming that the military mission had been accomplished. Yet Thursday’s concert sent an important message about Russia’s intentions in Syria: It showed Putin claiming credit for Assad’s recent success, demonstrated to the world that his forces had not really withdrawn and signaled that any peace will be made on Russian terms.
http://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-05-06/putin-stages-a-post-modern-show-in-palmyra
