Alexei Navalny’s successors — not western leaders — are best placed to carry on the fight for Russia’s future. But they’ll only succeed if Navalny’s cause isn’t seen as anchored to western ideals.
Ukraine can still emerge victorious in its war with Russia despite a failed summer counteroffensive. But what’s required now is a realistic assessment of Ukraine’s position and what is achievable.
While Russian public opinion polls show continued support for the war, there are questions about the polls’ reliability and indications that public approval of Putin is declining.
Russia has annexed four Ukrainian regions, saying they have always been part of the ‘motherland’. But Moscow’s territorial claim is as flimsy as the excuse it used to start the war
While some parts of eastern Ukraine have been under partial Russian control since 2014, other sections continue to fight back. Most residents overall have said they don’t want to be part of Russia.
Putin simultaneously seeks to control Ukraine, to dominate Russia’s region, and to hasten the fall of the West. And is an internal struggle on the horizon?
The sort of scenarios that might lead to the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war would require a significant deterioration in Russian fortunes — and greater western involvement in the conflict.
Associate Professor of Instruction in the School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies, Affiliate Professor at the Institute for Russian, European, and Eurasian Studies, University of South Florida