Russia’s frozen power structures condemn it to crisis. The adage about power and corruption going hand in hand fits the case, but there is a more ancient one that fits Putin and his immediate colleagues even better, in the Talmud: “Power buries those who wield it.”The Power VerticalWhen he succeeded Yeltsin, Putin did not have to choose top-down governance through what he called a “power vertical.” True, the roots of such a system were there in the 1990s, but so too was the potential for a more effective division of powers at the center, a better regional system, an improved …read more
Source: The American Interest
