<br /> Vladimir Putin hosting the World Cup this month is a welcome moment in the global limelight.<br />In Putin’s eyes, it sends a message that Russia is succeeding despite Western sanctions.<br />“For Putin, hosting the World Cup speaks to the failure of sanctions and the failure of Western efforts to isolate him,”<br />Professor Sergei Medvedev, of Moscow’s Higher School of Economics<br />Putin doesn’t want Russians to think their country is isolated as that could undermine his narratives. <br />
