Putin's Problems Are Real — And It's Not Just Navalny Police at Jan. 23 protest in Moscow in support of Alexei Navalny - Mihail Tokmakov/SOPA Images/ZUMA Russia may not be heading toward a full-blown revolution, at least not yet. But the current wave of protests shouldn't be dismissed either. PARIS — This Time Is Different was the title of a book devoted to the financial and economic crisis of 2007-2008. Could the same be said about the current situation in Russia? Depends on who you ask. On one extreme are those who say that the anti-Putin and Navalny liberation demonstrations are