Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to absorb economic punishment outstrips that of democratic leaders, who will face pressure from voters from rising living costs in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine, according to the former head of Australia’s Department of Defence. “He doesn’t face elections. He doesn’t have to worry about petrol prices. He doesn’t have to worry about the cost of livings,” former head of the defence department, Dennis Richardson, told the National Press Club on March 16. “That’s not just a reference to what we see in Australia today. The United States will face mid-term elections in November—between now and then they have their driving season and the summer holiday—petrol prices are already starting rise there,” he said. The former diplomat said that in the longer-term, liberal democracies were stronger, but in the short to mid-term, he expected the bevy of sanctions—over 460 so far aimed at …