Russia’s increasingly globalized campaign on behalf of authoritarian stability has been most visible and ambitious in Syria, but is equally evident in Belarus and further afield, notes a leading analyst…. Read more »
Russia’s leader faces a backlash from the generation that has lost out under his rule, notes analyst Natia Seskuria. Young people are becoming more politically active. After 21 years of Putin’s… Read more »
Democracies have been bent out of shape by rising populism but autocrats are more likely to crack under pressure, as the brittle façade of Vladimir Putin’s Russia demonstrates, analyst Philip… Read more »
What is the danger to an autocratic regime if it loses control over civil society? In the latest confirmation of the Russian authorities’ disregard for a vibrant and independent civil… Read more »
There is growing concern that Russian President Vladimir Putin may attempt to spur another crisis abroad (perhaps over Belarus) as a way to distract from the mounting political pressure at… Read more »
Many analysts wrongly assume that Russia is a declining power, but such analysis is outdated, argues Stanford’s Michael McFaul. It has reemerged, despite negative demographic trends and the rollback of… Read more »
As an increasingly paranoid Kremlin retreats into what one analyst has called Putin’s ‘bunkerisation,’ another highlights the resilience of Russian civil society. A team of Russian state security agents poisoned… Read more »
The “slow but perceptible rise of Russian civil society” combined with the gradual contraction of the pro-regime majority presents a challenge to the Kremlin, say two leading analysts. But the… Read more »
Civil society–led efforts to expose domestic and foreign state capture practices are the most effective check on potentially corrosive capital inflows—and their adverse knock-on effects, according to a new report…. Read more »
The election of the pro-Western politician Maia Sandu as Moldova’s next president shows that Russia’s Vladimir Putin is losing his grip over Russia’s near abroad, analysts contend. Monica Macovei,… Read more »