The state-controlled news media has given constant attention to the campaign, particularly to the fact that Mr. Trump, far from demonizing Mr. Putin, as most Western politicians do, praised him as a strong leader. The wall of the bar was decorated with dewy portraits of Mr. Putin, Mr. Trump and Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front in France. Gennadi A. Zyuganov, the longstanding leader of the Communist Party, said that Mrs. Clinton was smart but not good for Russia. Also by interfering in conflicts like those in Ukraine and Syria, Mr. Putin has sought to reassert Russia’s role as a global power to be reckoned with. It is the main talking point,” Mr. Putin told a group of mostly foreign Russia experts in October.

Source: International New York Times November 09, 2016 08:41 UTC