While the case of Lyudmila Savchuk might have highlighted a major push by the Kremlin to control online opinion, the reality on the ground does not look good for Putin.
The US is making common cause with Ukraine, but national security concerns are affecting the human rights of the most vulnerable trying to flee the fighting.
Russia’s response to the MH17 disaster came close to making it an international pariah – and an ensuing year of madcap foreign policy has only made things worse.
For the first time, Australians can vote for this year’s Eurovision winner. But it’s as much a political battlefield as a song contest – so hopefully the Russians have forgotten the “shirtfront”.
Cristian Nitoiu, London School of Economics and Political Science
Putin is superficially more popular than ever, but his extravagantly militaristic policy and Russia’s economic isolation mean he’s walking a tightrope.
As tensions run high over Russia’s gas supplies to the Ukraine, and by extension parts of Europe, the reality for the EU is less than perfect: it will need Russian gas for the foreseeable future.