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What went wrong with Russia in the 1990s
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What went wrong with Russia in the 1990s

On the origins of Putinism

Matthew Yglesias's avatar
Matthew Yglesias
Mar 15, 2022
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What went wrong with Russia in the 1990s
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Who lost Russia?

Or, more prosaically, how is it that Russia is ruled by a despotic and expansionist regime while the vast majority of post-communist Europe is peaceful, more-or-less democratic, and willingly integrated into the western system?

After all, though the war in Ukraine is new, the conflict with Ukraine dates back to Russia seizing Crimea in 20…

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