January 1999, Volume 10, Issue 1
On the evening of 20 November 1998, Galina Vasilievna Starovoitova was shot to death outside her St. Petersburg apartment. She was the sixth member of the Russian Duma to have been murdered since that body’s creation in 1993. Most observers agree that this was a political assassination. Starovoitova was a tireless, persistent voice for freedom,…
January 1997, Volume 8, Issue 1
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January 1997, Volume 8, Issue 1
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April 1996, Volume 7, Issue 2
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April 1996, Volume 7, Issue 2
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April 1995, Volume 6, Issue 2
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April 1995, Volume 6, Issue 2
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April 1995, Volume 6, Issue 2
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July 1994, Volume 5, Issue 3
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April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
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April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
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April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
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April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
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April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
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April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
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April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
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April 1994, Volume 5, Issue 2
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April 1993, Volume 4, Issue 2
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April 1993, Volume 4, Issue 2
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Millions of voters are casting ballots in a string of elections across the globe. At the midyear point, how well is democracy holding up?
The Russian dissident journalist and activist knew if he returned to Russia he would be imprisoned or worse. But he was plagued by one question that compelled him to go.
Everyone knows that Russia’s election is a fraud. The problem is no dictator ever feels safe enough, and Putin thinks even a fake election will signal to his cronies that he’s still in charge.
Russia’s dictator lives in fear. He knows the Russian people don’t support him. He can’t even muster a street rally without bribes or threats. No number of fake elections will change that.
The Kremlin’s political theater shouldn’t be mistaken for an election or symbol of stability. It’s a sign of Putin’s weakness and the country’s descent into a deeper tyranny.
Putin doesn’t care how many of his troops die. He is looking to win a war of attrition. On the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Ukraine needs the West’s help—and it needs it now.
Alexei Navalny was one of the bravest and most influential political leaders of our time. His assassination should be a wake-up call for Western democracies.
Alexei Navalny loved Russia and was willing to risk everything for it. It is hard to grasp the magnitude of his death for his people and his country.
Vladimir Putin may have imprisoned, tortured, and killed the brilliant opposition leader, but even now Navalny is a threat to the corrupt autocracy he has built.
They are benefiting from a world that has grown more hostile for democracy and human rights. But it doesn’t need to be the case. Democracies need to double down on their own competitive advantage.
Moscow and China pose a great danger to the democratic world. But they pose threats that need to be managed, not won. Every great foreign-policy battle doesn’t end with a decisive victory.
The Russian autocrat wanted to go down in history on par with Russia’s greatest leaders. He is increasingly looking like one of its weakest.
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion has exposed the fundamental instability of Putinism.
The Russian autocrat forgot an age-old truth about working with common criminals and soldiers for hire.
In the days ahead, the West must remain calm—and redouble its support for Ukraine.
The Russian autocrat’s system of control has rested on pillars that are beginning to crumble.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t just another land grab. It’s an attempt to recolonize lost empire, and threatens to return us to the age of conquest.
For twenty years, the Russian autocrat enjoyed a string of good fortune in coming to power and cementing his rule. He had raised Russia’s standing in the world. Then he invaded Ukraine.
His military didn’t just fail. Ordinary Ukrainians, Russians, and people across the globe are creatively and nonviolently protesting Putin’s war on Ukraine, and they are making a difference.
The Russian leader declared war on his country’s independent journalists. But Russian media outsmarted him by taking their operations overseas. They are now reaching more people than ever before.
In 2022, we began publishing shorter, exclusively online pieces. No topic mattered more to you than Russia’s disastrous war in Ukraine. We also published essays from the sharpest minds on protests in China and Iran, instability in Pakistan, and more.
The Kremlin’s order to call up Russians to fight in Ukraine risks massive protests. It’s the riskiest decision of Putin’s rule, and it could lead to his undoing.
While widespread violence or civil war was averted, the consequences for Russia—and Putin—could be grave.
The more determined democracies are to avoid war, the greater the risk that autocracies will wage it.
In a matter of weeks, the Russian autocrat has erased his country’s prosperity in a feckless attempt to rebuild a doomed empire.
How does a Russian autocrat celebrate Victory Day while losing a war? Expect lies, myths, and propaganda.
Why we must tackle the threat posed by Putin and his authoritarianism head on.
Russia’s autocrat may be weakened, but his grip on power is greater than many people realize.
The system that Russia’s autocrat built wasn’t designed to survive the pressures it is now facing.
Forget his excuses. Russia’s autocrat doesn’t worry about NATO. What terrifies him is the prospect of a flourishing Ukrainian democracy.
If the West forces Kyiv to accept Putin’s diplomatic terms, he will have succeeded without firing a shot.
In recent years, as leading authoritarian countries such as China, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela have become emboldened within the global arena, challenging the liberal international political order, the advanced democracies have retreated rather than responding to this threat.
Is the challenge of building and consolidating democracy under postcommunist conditions unique, or can one apply lessons learned from other new democracies? The essays collected in this volume explore these questions, while tracing how the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union have fared in the decade following the fall of communism.
