The Russia File

News and Opinions - April 2021

Russia is often seen as a country that was led astray by a former KGB officer, Vladimir Putin. Informed by his training and character, it is often implied, he turned himself into an all-powerful ruler and turned Russia into the autocracy it is today. But what if he simply was helpless to do any better and is not in fact all-powerful?

The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses constraints on Putin's ability to execute authority with Timothy Frye, whose book, Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin’s Russia, will be out this month. Timothy Frye is Professor at the Department of Political Science at Columbia University, New York, and a co-Director of the International Center for the Study of Institutions and Development (ICSID) at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow.

Weak Strongman: Discussing the Limits of Putin's Power with Timothy Frye

April 12 is the UN's International Day of Human Space Flight. Officially celebrated in Russia as the Cosmonautics Day, in 2021 it marked 60 years since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. This Soviet accomplishment came at the height of the Cold War and not only affected the bilateral relationship, but also inspired American and Soviet citizens alike. Despite their fierce competition, the United States and the Soviet Union also managed to identify opportunities for cooperation in the exploration of outer space, which culminated in the joint Apollo-Soyuz mission in 1975. Today, when bilateral tensions are high again, space remains one of the few remaining areas of productive interaction between Russia and the U.S. In this panel, our experts considered the enduring legacy of Yuri Gagarin’s flight and its effects on popular culture and scientific innovation in the two countries, and discussed the dynamic of space competition and collaboration since that flight.

Speakers:
Slava Gerovitch - Lecturer, Department of Mathematics, MIT

Cathleen Lewis - Curator, International Space Programs and Spacesuits, Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum

Asif Siddiqi - Professor, Department of History, Fordham University

Moderator:
Joseph Dresen - Senior Program Associate, Kennan Institute

04/13/2021 - The Soviet Union Leaps Forward: The 60th Anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's Space Flight

In a conversation with Samuel Greene, director of King's Russia Institute, the Russia File discusses the Kremlin's COVID-19 politics and Russian society’s newfound empowerment.

Russia in a Pandemic and Moscow's Two Competing Instincts: Increase Control or Shift the Blame

Well-known Belarusian journalist Franak Viačorka and the Russia File's Maxim Trudolyubov discuss Belarusian society's newfound agency and wonder why President Lukashenko is no longer comfortable being seen as pro-Russian.

Belarus's Parallel Realities: An Entrenched Presidency Meets an Awakened Society

For the Kremlin, the memory of World War II is fodder for a national myth of military glory and sacrifice. But for ordinary Russians, the story is more complex. Izabella Tabarovsky, Maxim Trudolyubov, and Masha Lipman delve into the myths and explore stories that never became part of the national narrative.

Searching for Hidden Narratives of World War II in Russia

With presidential term limits for Vladimir Putin nullified, has Russia become more authoritarian? What is the difference between "overt" and "informational" dictatorships? Do democracies – or the West as a political and cultural concept - still have the appeal they once had for the countries that emerged from the former Soviet Union? Does the left-right divide still make sense in today’s world? Russia File's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses this and more with Daniel Treisman, a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Limited Violence, Unlimited Manipulation: How Informational Dictatorships Work

While everyone is preoccupied with the coronavirus pandemic, public protests, and electoral politics, the world’s three largest nuclear powers are busy modernizing their arsenals. They are doing this in a world that will soon be left without any strategic arms control treaties inherited from the Cold War. 

Is nuclear still the world’s most powerful deterrent? What do Russian and all other major military forces want? Does the future belong to private military companies? Will wars be fought remotely and entirely by machines? 

The Russia File's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses this and more with the astute military analyst Michael Kofman, Director of the Russia Studies Program at CNA.

Russia’s Military and the World’s Post-Arms Control Future

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Weak Strongman: Discussing the Limits of Putin's Power with Timothy Frye

The Wilson Center