Vladimir Putin Wins a Still-Contested Election in Russia

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In The Media

Vladimir Putin Wins a Still-Contested Election in Russia

After winning Russia's presidential elections, Vladimir Putin faces a number of major domestic and foreign policy challenges.

By Matthew Rojansky

Published on Mar 6, 2012

Source: Southern California Public Radio

Speaking with Patt Morrison on Southern California Public Radio, Carnegie’s Matthew Rojansky argued that the governmental structure in Russia does not necessarily gravitate towards the strong man. “I don’t buy the arguments that say that somehow Russians either innately crave authoritarianism or that it is something about Russian culture or something about the Russian climate massive land empire surrounded by enemies,” said Rojansky. “Russia just hasn’t really had much time to evolve into a liberal participatory democracy - we stand 20 years from the end of the absolute communist dictatorship and that is not a very long time.”

Putin as a Politician and a Statesman: “Putin is perhaps a competent statesman but not a great strategist,” said Rojansky. Russia’s geopolitical position is more isolated now than it has been for a very long time. “Russia has found itself on the wrong side of the Syria issue, not just in the moral sense, but also in terms of Russia’s traditional allies, like the Arab League,” explained Rojansky. Both on foreign policy and on domestic issues, Putin is facing some really major challenges, he concluded.
Russia’s Future: “Putin has been given a new chance. I think if he were a strategic thinker, not just a tactical thinker, he would view this as a chance to hear the grievances described by the protests and deliver real results,” said Rojansky. The greatest popular grievance in Russia is corruption, which is, unfortunately, such an integral feature of the system, “that it is not something I can realistically see Putin tackling,” said Rojansky.

This interview was originally aired on Southern California Public Radio.

About the Author

Matthew Rojansky

Former Deputy Director, Russia and Eurasia Program

Rojansky, formerly executive director of the Partnership for a Secure America, is an expert on U.S. and Russian national security and nuclear-weapon policies.

Recent Work

Paper
An Opportunity for Ambition: Ukraine’s OSCE Chairmanship
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Presiding Over the OSCE: Challenges and Opportunities
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Political Reform Foreign Policy Caucasus Russia

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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