The unexplained death in prison of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is a symbol of global attempts to shift the balance of power toward authoritarian elites everywhere.

More and more people are demanding explanations from local officials. And they’re not satisfied with answers that claim all decisions are taken in Moscow.

Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk—known in the 1990s as the communist “red belt”—are now a support belt for Putin’s “special operation.”

Despite growing talk abroad of Russia’s coming decolonization and the potential role of the war in Ukraine in bringing it about, several factors preclude the country’s disintegration along its regional borders.