Newly re-elected Russian president Vladimir Putin will skip a meeting with Obama to beat back protests at home. The Wall Street Journal reports:
Mr. Putin, who this week was inaugurated for a new six-year term, was scheduled to meet with President Barack Obama at the White House and then participate in the economic summit of the Group of Eight leading nations at Camp David…
Russia has been hit by a wave of protests since Mr. Putin essentially extended his dominance over the country, which began in 2000, when he decided to seek a return to the presidency after four years as prime minister.
The decision set off a winter-long series of street demonstrations, the largest in Russia in two decades. On Tuesday, the Obama administration blasted Russian officials for "mistreatment" of protesters.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev will attend in his place.