He claimed the worst was over in Russia's economic crisis. He tacitly admitted the presence of Russian military personnel in eastern Ukraine. And in one of his more colorful lines, he suggested that Turkey wants to lick the Americans in a certain unmentionable place.
Vladimir Putin's marathon year-end press conference is an annual ritual that is never short of pithy one-liners.
And in the midst of all the spin, theatrics, and bluster, it is also an event rich in messaging about the Kremlin's current thinking and its priorities for the year ahead.
On the year-end edition of The Power Vertical Podcast, we try to separate the signals from the noise.
Joining me are co-host Mark Galeotti, a professor at New York University, an expert on Russia's security services, and author of the blog In Moscow's Shadows; and Sean Guillory of the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies, author of Sean's Russia Blog, and host of the SRB Podcast.
Also on the podcast, Mark, Sean, and I take a look back at 2015 -- and ahead to 2016.
Enjoy ...
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Podcast: What A Long, Strange Year It's Been
Listen to or download the podcast above or subscribe to The Power Vertical Podcast on iTunes.