‘Putin is playing chess and I think we are playing marbles.’ Vladimir Putin’s ‘soft power’ and the American Right
Journal: International Communication Gazette
Year: 2017

The crisis in Ukraine and the Russian annexation of Crimea negatively affected Russia’s image in the United States and in Western Europe. At the same time, the dynamic of the Russian–U.S. relations during the crisis prodded several prominent American right-wing politicians and commentators to make statements about Vladimir Putin that reflected their own ‘desire for a tough leader who will dispense with niceties and embrace power’. This article explores the phenomenon of Vladimir Putin’s ‘popular