President Vladimir Putin accused the West of trying to subdue and disarm Russia at a defiant annual news conference Thursday, and blamed “external factors”—chiefly the drop in oil prices—for the collapse of Russia’s currency and stock market. He acknowledged that Western sanctions over the country’s annexation of Crimea and role in Ukraine were biting, but said the economic troubles “are payment for our independence, our sovereignty.” He reassured Russians that they would last no more than two years, as Russia retools its economy away from oil, upon which it had become overly dependent. Mr. Putin ’s comments, the first since the ruble plunged earlier this week, signal he may hunker down for a long chill in relations with the West, although he appeared to be softening his stance in Ukraine. He appeared to rebuff the pro-Russian […]