A Velvet Revolution That Putin Can Live With

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The Kremlin just got another lesson in people power from a former Soviet satellite that ousted an autocrat who tried to cling to power indefinitely. Unlike democratic upheavals in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, however, Russian officials don't seem troubled by the bloodless revolt in the tiny Caucasus republic of Armenia.

Russia's Foreign Ministry hailed the “great people” whose mass protests forced Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan's resignation. A member of Russia's Kremlin-controlled parliament tweeted that “nobody wants to put up with the same person leading the government for decades” — apparently oblivious to President Vladimir Putin extending his rule to 24 years in March elections.

Sargsyan, a close Putin ally, only became prime minister last week after serving as president for a decade and overseeing reforms that transferred executive authority to the premiership.

Russian officials are relaxed despite the political parallels because they regard Armenia's rebellion as homegrown and see no U.S. or European Union involvement in stirring up another pro-Western “color revolution.” Besides, they're confident whoever comes next will maintain close economic and security ties to Russia, which has a key military base in Armenia.

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And finally ... The 4.5-foot European Sessile Oak sapling that Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron planted together on the South Lawn of the White House yesterday was plucked from the Belleau Woods, where U.S. Marines, fighting alongside French and British forces, thwarted a German advance in June of 1918. The symbolism of Macron's gift  — at the outset of a three-day visit aimed at convincing Trump to stick with Europe on the Iran nuclear deal  — was hard to miss.

--With assistance from Kathleen Hunter

To contact the author of this story: Anthony Halpin in Moscow at thalpin5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Karl Maier at kmaier2@bloomberg.net.

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