"Why Putin leapt to FIFA's defense" by Sam Schaffer

In the midst of a high-profile investigation into accusations of corruption within the international governing body of soccer (FIFA), Russian president Vladimir Putin has leapt to the defense of its discredited leadership, Sepp Blatter. He claims that the United States, who has accused both Russia and Qatar of participating in the corruption (with bribes), is wrongfully pointing the finger at Blatter in a subversive attempt to implicate Russia, in order to further sour relations with the country. 

The fact that Putin leapt to FIFA's defense is indicative of a key characteristic of Russia (under Putin's regime). Specifically, he is a strong supporter of authority- to Putin, the loss of leadership (under Blatter) would mean that FIFA would not have a single leader issuing commands from the top down, and thus it would lose its authority as a governing body of soccer. Since Putin came into power, Russian government has been marked by a cult of personality and reckless usage of executive authority. This trend has been reflected in Putin's defense of a corrupt organization in order to preserve authority in a certain area.