'He kissed up well' Artyom Zhoga was supposed to embody Putin’s new model of veterans in high places. So far, his performance has fallen flat.

'He kissed up well' Artyom Zhoga was supposed to embody Putin’s new model of veterans in high places. So far, his performance has fallen flat.

In his February 2024 address to Russia’s Federal Assembly, Vladimir Putin called for veterans of the war in Ukraine to become the country’s “new elites” and to hold “leading positions” in government. In the approximately 14 months since then, this initiative has brought few success stories — though not for lack of trying. One of the most visible of these “new elites” is Artyom Zhoga, a former commander of the pro-Russian separatist Sparta Battal…