The durability of the Russian political and economic system molded by Vladimir Putin has been the subject of much analysis and speculation, both Russian and foreign, generating a veritable cottage industry of opinion pieces and forecasts. Some observers have long argued that structural economic problems (e.g., endemic corruption, a poor business climate, and overdependence on hydrocarbon revenues) and increasing political repression would ultimately cause the system to melt down. The Ukraine crisis and subsequent cratering of energy prices beginning in 2014 have provided still more grist for assertions that Putinism is in for a very hard landing, with doomsayers predicting …read more
Source: The American Interest
