MOSCOW ― To close out 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama authorized several actions in response to the Russian government’s aggressive harassment of U.S. officials and cyber operations aimed at the recent American presidential election, including expelling Russian diplomats and closing Russian government–owned compounds. These steps, described by some analysts as the biggest retaliation since the Cold War, drew a variety of reactions in Russia. While a number of Russian commentators on social networks habitually blamed Obama’s administration for weakness of response and animosity against Russia, the Kremlin chose a different approach. In an unusual act of moderation, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to postpone retaliation in the hope that U.S.-Russia relations will improve under the new Trump administration.
