In any genuine protest movement, there comes a time when the establishment is forced to decide how to acknowledge it internally and externally.  That may have finally happened in Russia this week, as Vladimir Putin went on the attack against the polyglot protest movement with a new narrative.  Instead of dismissing the movement as foreign-funded agents as usual, Putin addressed the movement from a campaigning perspective, alleging that the movement lacked both a concrete agenda and a credible leader that can achieve something “concrete.”

This shift in tone – despite the fact that Putin is still speaking out both sides of the mouth – is very meaningful.  Throughout the course of Vladimir Putin’s very long political career, he has never been burdened with the labors and occasional indignity of a genuinely competitive campaign.   Now, for the first time, we are hearing arguments from Putin as to why he is still needed, representing a tectonic shift from 2007 Duma elections based on the breathtakingly empty platform known as “Putin’s Plan.”