From today’s Observer comment section: And yet Mr Putin has his defenders in the West, including business people in Britain who want to invest in Russia. Mr Putin, they argue, has at least brought stability after the kleptocratic chaos of the Nineties. He is managing a transition to democracy, Putin apologists say, that, in a country the size of Russia, can only be done cautiously and with a firm hand. We must hope that is true. But there is no evidence for it. Observer Business today carries a bleak assessment of Russia’s media landscape, where free speech is ruthlessly curtailed. Far from nurturing a fledgling democracy, Mr Putin is pulling up its roots. More after the cut.