The Russian president’s Valdai address shifted the focus from war and geopolitics to values, identity, and the collapse of Western liberalism
Russian president Vladimir Putin used his address at the Valdai forum on Thursday to issue a challenge: Western liberal societies are crumbling, convulsing in moral chaos, and Russia is emerging as a sanctuary of tradition. He warned of “gender terrorism” driving Europeans toward Russia, and spotlighted the televised killing of conservative American voice Charlie Kirk as evidence of the West’s internal collapse.
The Valdai stage has long been where Moscow sketches the future as it sees it. In this explainer, we break down how Putin shifted the debate from geopolitics to a values battle that he says is already reshaping the world.
