Weak Strongman News Today

Getting Russia Right offers a practitioner’s account of why the great post-Cold War hopes for an enduring U.S.-Russian strategic partnership grounded in free markets and democratic values gave way to…

Interpretations of the Wagner saga are more imaginative than analytical.

Nuclear threats and announcing a partial mobilisation for his war in Ukraine cannot hide the Russian president’s weakening grip on power.

Alexei Navalny, the arrested Russian opposition leader, sparked protests against Vladimir Putin with a YouTube video. Now, his hunger strike in prison is pressuring Putin again.

When Vladimir Putin came to power in 1999, he immediately called on the Russian military.

When Vladimir Putin assumed power in 1999, he immediately sent the Russian military into Chechnya. For more than 20 years, Putin has repeatedly looked to the military to strengthen his rule.

With relations between Biden and Putin chilled, it's likely that a 'cold peace' is the best-case scenario coming out of this week’s summit.

Leading political scientist Timothy Frye argues that the crude and facile character of the anti-Russia crusade in the Western media is causing misunderstandings about the Kremlin and Russian society that could result in tactical mistakes and missed opportunities to promote regime change.

After months of mutual mistrust and barbs, the Russian and American presidents will meet on June 16 in Geneva.

Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putins Russia By Timothy Frye   Media and public discussion tends to understand Russian politics as a direct reflection of Vladimir Putin’s seeming omnipotence or Russia’s unique history and culture. Yet Russia is remarkably similar to other autocracies—and recognizing this illuminates the inherent limits to Putin’s power.  Weak Strongman challenges the conventional wisdom about Putin’s Russia, highlighting the difficult trade-offs that confro...