Western magazine covers are having a field day with Russia's military occupation of Crimea, portraying President Vladimir Putin variously as an arsonist, a strait-jacketed crazy, or a devilish, Brezhnevesque presence. Russian-language publications, meanwhile, are largely taking a less strident approach.
Covered: Magazines On 'Putin's Crimean War'
!["Putin's Crimean War. What's Russia Playing At? What Threatens Poland?" asks Poland's "Polityka."](https://gdb.rferl.org/65f73cd4-b605-4822-8823-946ba08e7df6_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"Putin's Crimean War. What's Russia Playing At? What Threatens Poland?" asks Poland's "Polityka."
!["'Evil Empire. If The World Does Not Stop Putin Now, It May Soon Be Too Late," says Polish "Newsweek."](https://gdb.rferl.org/d5891b0b-a110-45ff-a2dd-5e11a6441c4e_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"'Evil Empire. If The World Does Not Stop Putin Now, It May Soon Be Too Late," says Polish "Newsweek."
![Germany's "Der Spiegel" labels the Russian president "The Arsonist. Who will stop Putin?" ](https://gdb.rferl.org/337ba8e4-9aa8-4e30-b78f-2f6c7498464b_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Germany's "Der Spiegel" labels the Russian president "The Arsonist. Who will stop Putin?"
![For Dutch weekly "Elsevier" the question is, "Does Putin Know His Limits?"](https://gdb.rferl.org/c7633118-e79a-46bc-bc74-5252b8ab12ba_w1024_q10_s.png)
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For Dutch weekly "Elsevier" the question is, "Does Putin Know His Limits?"
![](https://gdb.rferl.org/395d56de-2c47-40b1-8668-858ae1b08444_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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![](https://gdb.rferl.org/561b6831-7384-4f29-b676-247ae0919078_w1024_q10_s.png)
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!["Argumenty i fakty" plays on the similarity between the Russian for "peninsula" (half-island) and "island." "The Crimean half-ISLAND. Is Southeast Ukraine Drifting Toward Russia?" asks the Russian news magazine.](https://gdb.rferl.org/2e2ae3ed-d4f2-4a01-b187-ccea76923ff8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"Argumenty i fakty" plays on the similarity between the Russian for "peninsula" (half-island) and "island." "The Crimean half-ISLAND. Is Southeast Ukraine Drifting Toward Russia?" asks the Russian news magazine.
!["The Dementia Is Intense And Our Tanks Are Fast." "Novaya gazeta's" headline plays on a literary cliche ("the 'frost is hard") that is used to describe an absurd situation. The tanks are a reference to the wartime patriotic song, "The march of the Soviet tankmen." Alongside its cannon-as-meat grinder, the Russian newspaper writes, "Under the pretext of the Ukrainian crisis, Moscow is ready to make decisions that will hit ordinary citizens."](https://gdb.rferl.org/f7a333ce-540b-4e88-b20d-4b4c432b60af_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"The Dementia Is Intense And Our Tanks Are Fast." "Novaya gazeta's" headline plays on a literary cliche ("the 'frost is hard") that is used to describe an absurd situation. The tanks are a reference to the wartime patriotic song, "The march of the Soviet tankmen." Alongside its cannon-as-meat grinder, the Russian newspaper writes, "Under the pretext of the Ukrainian crisis, Moscow is ready to make decisions that will hit ordinary citizens."
!["Russky reporter" current-affairs weekly asks, "Can War Be Averted?"](https://gdb.rferl.org/355124b6-2a0e-4856-b21b-4d54d5b541a8_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"Russky reporter" current-affairs weekly asks, "Can War Be Averted?"
!["Is Lenin So Precious?" asks Ukrainian magazine "Korrespondent," which promises to "explain the mood in regions unsupportive of Maidan."](https://gdb.rferl.org/607bc12e-9547-4496-b899-312c02992215_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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"Is Lenin So Precious?" asks Ukrainian magazine "Korrespondent," which promises to "explain the mood in regions unsupportive of Maidan."
![Czech weekly "Respekt" gives Putin the unmistakable eyebrows of an earlier Kremlin leader, Leonid Brezhnev, on its cover page headlined: "The World According To Putin."](https://gdb.rferl.org/3ea4430d-83c9-4f34-82eb-8f35f3e4d3cd_w1024_q10_s.jpg)
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Czech weekly "Respekt" gives Putin the unmistakable eyebrows of an earlier Kremlin leader, Leonid Brezhnev, on its cover page headlined: "The World According To Putin."