Wat westerse beleidsmakers niet lijken te begrijpen is dat zo'n aanpak er waarschijnlijk eerder toe zal leiden dat de Russen de gelederen achter het regime sluiten dan dat ze het zullen gaan ondermijnen.
What Western policymakers fail to understand is that such an approach is less likely to undermine the regime than to cause Russians to close ranks behind it. Opinion polls show that Russians perceive Western pressure and sanctions to be aimed not at Putin and his cronies, but at Russia and its citizens.