June 27, 2023

The Precarious Nature of Putin’s Regime

Over the weekend, infighting between Prigozhin and Shoigu led to seismic shifts in Russian domestic stability. This episode was recorded on Friday, June 23, prior to start of the Wagner Group’s insurgency within Russia. The implications of Wagner’s armed rebellion remain uncertain. This Brussels Sprouts, released in conjunction with the launch of the CNAS Russia Stability Tracker, focuses on the broader context of Russian domestic stability. As the war in Ukraine continues and elite fissures begin to emerge, Catherine Belton and Arkady Ostrovksy join the conversation to discuss Putin’s hold on power, and how we might expect Russian domestic dynamics to evolve moving forward.

Catherine Belton reports on Russia for The Washington Post. She is the author of Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took On the West.

Arkady Ostrovsky is the Russia and eastern Europe editor for The Economist. He is the author of The Invention of Russia: The Journey from Gorbachev’s Freedom to Putin’s War and The Invention of Russia: The Rise of Putin and the Age of Fake News.

  • Commentary
    • Foreign Affairs
    • April 23, 2024
    The Axis of Upheaval

    The West has been too quick to dismiss the coordination among China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia....

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Richard Fontaine

  • Podcast
    • April 19, 2024
    The State of the War in Ukraine with Michael Kofman

    As the war in Ukraine continues into its third year, the mood has become increasingly dark. While territorial changes continue to be minor, Russia’s slow but steady advances a...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend & Michael Kofman

  • Podcast
    • March 22, 2024
    Putin’s Fifth Term and Russian Domestic Politics

    This past weekend, Russians went to the polls for the country’s presidential election. To the surprise of no one, Vladimir Putin emerged victorious with a record-high 87 perce...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Jim Townsend, Dr. Angela Stent & Joshua Yaffa

  • Commentary
    • POLITICO Europe
    • March 5, 2024
    What NATO allies must do to prepare for Russian aggression

    While it’s expensive to do what’s necessary to deter major aggression, it would be far more expensive to fight a major war if deterrence fails....

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Greg Weaver

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia