Carnegie Moscow Center
Russia’s intransigence in the face of intense international pressure to halt the violence in Syria is confusing to much of the world, but there are real Russian financial and strategic interests at stake over Syria.
In the aftermath of the presidential elections, Putin’s uncertain political position and weakened political strength may prove both a domestic and international limitation.
Putin's economic agenda offers only more of the same heavy-handed policies that have failed to modernize Russia and made the country more vulnerable to external shocks.
Vladimir Putin’s election as Russia’s president may mark the end of the first phase of Russia’s awakening, but the awakening is not over. A restructuring of the Russian political field has just begun.
Now that Vladimir Putin and his United Russia party have returned to office for the next six years, it remains to be seen how much time he will have for Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin secured his return to power in Sunday’s Russian presidential election. Though that result came as no surprise, the issue of what will come next for Russia is still an open question.
There is no reason to believe that the protests and the problems associated with them will end now that the Duma and presidential elections are over.
While Vladimir Putin’s election to the presidency should not change the course of Russia’s foreign policy, his fate will largely depend on his government’s socio-economic and political performance.
Putin's return to the Kremlin may be good news for Dmitri Medvedev and Russia's oligarchs, but the middle class, especially the younger generation, is less optimistic about his re-election and the country's future.
Western governments have the opportunity to demonstrate to the Russian elite that its ability to prosper in the West depends on its behavior inside Russia itself.