Carnegie Moscow Center
The Russian system of autocratic rule has been exhausted. Still many factors help delay the deterioration of the crisis. So Russia is waiting for its Godot, that is for someone to come, either from up on top or down below, to solve all problems for it.
Russia’s recent amnesties reveal the strength of Putin’s position in the country. The release of several high-profile prisoners disarms criticism from the opposition and abroad.
The West must brace itself for the possibility that the oligarchic system itself, with its deep roots in Russian political culture, will outlive the regime of President Vladimir V. Putin.
The war the terrorists are waging against Russia is for real, and their threats are not empty. Sochi is probably highest on the terrorists’ hit list, and Moscow is another prime target. However, for the time being, the terrorists have focused on some of the softer targets in the south of Russia.
Victor Yanukovych has presented his nation as a gift to Vladimir Putin, but the Ukrainian people have gathered in Kiev’s Independence Square to resist this move. Violence is still possible, and more is at stake than just the political future of one country.
Understanding that the world has found itself in a period of interregnum, or “time without a trajectory,” is the key legacy of 2013.
Putin’s pardon of Khodorkovsky is the demonstration of the absolute power of the Russian president who enjoys his omnipotence and who has found one more way to demonstrate it.
Despite the diplomatic victories of Vladimir Putin, the economic stagnation in Russia is a far deeper and long-term factor.
This year’s top three “men of the year” include Pope Francis, Vladimir Putin, and Edward Snowden. But if the “people who made history in 2013” were to be chosen, it should be the actual people—those Ukrainians who have gathered in the Kiev Independence Square.
Putin’s announcement about an impending pardon for Mikhail Khodorkovsky at his year-end press conference in the Kremlin today speaks volumes about the state of Russian domestic politics.