When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, many in the West expected the country's elite to stop the war. Sanctioned businessmen and liberal technocrats had fortunes, reputations, and cosmopolitan lives to lose. Instead, they rewired the economy for war and stayed. 

Drawing on a decade of conversations with senior Russian officials and business figures, Alexandra Prokopenko explains why in her new book, From Sovereigns to Servants. Putin's ruling class did not fail a test in 2022; it had long since been stripped of the capacity to take one. From Sovereigns to Servants traces how a governing class became an administrative stratum, and what that means for whatever Russia comes after Putin.

Join us for the book launch, where the author will answer questions and provide insight into Putin's circle, the Russian elites and economy, and why they are not what they seem to Western decision-makers. Max Seddon, Moscow bureau chief at the Financial Times, will moderate the discussion with Alexandra Prokopenko.