The inexplicable 12-hour delay in its release – television schedules had been cleared for the previous evening – was symptomatic of the disorder. So was Putin’s glassy visage, awkward posture and stilted delivery. Military, diplomatic and political setbacks are multiplying. Out of touch, out of options and out of luck, Putin enters the final phase of his reign. Readers distracted by Britain’s funerals may have missed some events elsewhere. The last two weeks have been the worst in Russian
