March 03, 2023

Russian Political Stability: Assessing Putin’s Hold on Power

As we pass the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war in Ukraine, numerous factors such as the Russian military’s poor performance, Putin’s botched mobilization, mounting casualties, economic challenges resulting from sanctions and export controls, and increasingly visible elite fissures are raising questions about the political stability of the Russian regime.

This special edition of Brussels Sprouts includes a recording of a live CNAS event from Thursday, March 2nd. We dive into all of this and more during a conversation with a group of the leading scholars on Putin and authoritarianism. This conversation builds on our recently released Russian stability tracker, which you can find on the CNAS website.

Dr. Timothy Frye is the Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Policy at Columbia University, where he researches comparative politics and the political economy focusing on the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

Dr. Marlene Laruelle is the Director for the Institute of European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies and the Illiberalism Studies Program at The George Washington University. She studies the rise of populist and illiberal movements in post-Soviet Eurasia, Europe, and the United States.

Dr. Brian Taylor is the Director of the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs as well as a professor of political science at Syracuse University. His research focuses on the development of the Russian state, with particular interest in its use of state coercive organizations.

Dr. Daniel Treisman is a professor of political science at UCLA as well as a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He studies Russian politics and economics, focusing on democratization, political decentralization, and corruption.

  • Commentary
    • Foreign Affairs
    • December 18, 2024
    Putin’s Point of No Return

    The United States and Europe must invest in resisting Russia now or pay a far greater cost later....

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Michael Kofman

  • Podcast
    • December 13, 2024
    What Can Europe do in Syria?

    After 54 years of brutal rule in Syria, the al-Assad family’s reign came to an end last week. Following 13 years of devastating civil war, which saw over a million refugees fl...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

  • Podcast
    • November 22, 2024
    Trump and the War in Ukraine with Michael Kofman and Robert Lee

    More than 1000 days into the War in Ukraine, questions about continued support for the Ukrainian effort and the prospect of a negotiated settlement in the months to come have ...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Rob Lee & Mike Kofman

  • Podcast
    • November 13, 2024
    The Future of Russia and China in Central Asia

    Despite the many proclamations that Russian and Chinese interests would collide in Central Asia, Moscow and Beijing continue to work together in service of their shared object...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia