Is a coup against Putin possible? Russia’s history offers clues
April 06, 2022 | THE WASHINGTON POST
Vladimir Putin has never faced a serious challenge to his power. But his disastrous war in Ukraine could change that. Read full article>>
Putin’s Soft Spot for His Favorite Crony Is Wrecking His Precious War
March 24, 2022 | THE DAILY BEAST
One of Putin’s favorite insiders has been accused of plundering Russian assets instead of focusing on his day job. Sadly for the Kremlin, he’s supposed to be running the war. Read full article>>
These Putin Pals Were Mysteriously Spared From U.S. Sanctions
March 16, 2022 | THE DAILY BEAST
Banking tycoons Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman worked hard to embed themselves among Washington’s elite over the years—and their ties to Putin run deep. Read full article>>
The Russian People May Be Starting to Think Putin Is Insane
March 01, 2022 | THE DAILY BEAST
The more desperately Putin tries to demonstrate his authority ahead of elections in 2024, the more his grip on power may slip away. Read full article>>
Will Putin’s war threaten his hold on the Kremlin?
February 28, 2022 | THE GLOBE AND MAIL
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine proceeds with breathtaking pace, a key question is how much support Vladimir Putin can count on at home. Read full article>>
Why we shouldn’t believe Russia’s leaders when they claim they’re afraid of the West
February 10, 2022 | THE WASHINGTON POST
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s entourage never tires of railing against the West. Take, for example, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Here’s what he wrote in an essay last June: “In a number of Western countries, students learn at school that Jesus Christ was bisexual. Attempts by reasonable politicians to shield the younger generation from aggressive LGBT propaganda are met with bellicose protests from the ‘enlightened Europe.’” Read full article>>
On Ukraine, NATO and more, Russia’s Vladimir Putin lives in an alternative reality. How did he get there?
January 21, 2022 | THE GLOBE AND MAIL
The Russian leader’s personal background and thirst for wealth offer clues to his state of mind – and the things he could do next – as his armies amass on Ukraine’s borders. Read full article>>
Never the West’s business? Why pressuring Russia is so difficult
September 10, 2021 | TLS
What a difference a year has made in Russia. Last summer, the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was travelling around Siberia urging people to vote against the pro-Kremlin United Russia Party in the September regional elections. Read full article>>
Anti-Putin Campaigners: It’s Time to Sanction the Large Adult Sons of Oligarchs and Cronies
March 02, 2021 | THE DAILY BEAST
As Biden announces his first punitive measures against the Kremlin, Russia’s anti-corruption campaigners say it’s time to stop cronies evading Western sanctions via their families. Read full article>>
Putin Says He Doesn’t Know Anything about the Billion-Dollar Palace Russia Built Him
January 27, 2021 | THE DAILY BEAST
Facing growing national protests over his treatment of anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny, the Russian president is backed into a corner over Navalny’s latest exposé. Read full article>>
Will Russians heed Alexey Navalny’s call to action?
January 21, 2021 | THE GLOBE AND MAIL
If Russian President Vladimir Putin’s words are to be taken at face value, Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny is politically insignificant. Read full article>>
Why Russia’s Overseas Spies Keep Getting Caught
January 19, 2021 | THE DAILY BEAST
Spy rings keep getting busted and a massive hack of U.S. government departments has been exposed, but Russia’s spooks keep blundering on. Read full article>>
The Poison Trail That Led Straight to Putin
December 17, 2020 | THE DAILY BEAST
The Russian president was forced to admit that FSB agents had been trailing Alexei Navalny before his poisoning by the deadly nerve agent Novichok. Read full article>>
What is Putin’s Endgame With Americans Detained in Russia?
November 26, 2020 | THE DAILY BEAST
The investor Michael Calvey and former U.S. Marines Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed could prove to be valuable bargaining chips for Russia under a Biden administration.Read full article>>
Putin Is Facing the Toughest Fight of His Presidency as Former USSR Goes up in Flames
October 08, 2020 | THE DAILY BEAST
Holed up in isolation President Putin is facing the gravest crisis of his regime as domestic and foreign threats to his authority stack up faster than he can crush them. Read full article>>
Navalny Had Many Enemies in the Kremlin—but Who Wanted Him Dead?
September 10, 2020 | THE DAILY BEAST
Putin and the Kremlin elite must be nervous about the improbable survival of the gadfly who exposed their corruption. Read full article>>
The Trump-Alfa Bank Server Mystery Resurfaces
September 02, 2020 | JUST SECURITY
The recent release of the final volume of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on Russian 2016 election interference and two new lawsuits by Russia’s Alfa Bank have brought back into the spotlight the puzzling lack of an explanation for the mysterious communications between the bank and the Trump Organization during the last presidential campaign. Read full article>>
What’s Really Behind Putin’s Vendetta Against Americans?
June 30, 2020 | THE DAILY BEAST
Most important to Putin and his cronies is their desire to share in the pillaged wealth of post-Soviet Russia, and their hatred of anyone who would hold them accountable. Read full article>>
The Kremlin’s ‘Little Dragon’ Goes After Coronavirus Victims—and Reporters
April 21, 2020 | THE DAILY BEAST
Ramzan Kadyrov is president of the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, and Vladimir Putin’s most dangerous protégé. How’s he fighting COVID-19? With fear. Read full article>>
Can Putin Survive His Bungling of Coronavirus?
April 15, 2020 | THE DAILY BEAST
A month ago, the Kremlin was gloating about Russia’s handling of the pandemic. No longer. And the disaster now threatens Putin’s autocratic ambitions. Read full article>>
The Secret Files of the Soviet Union
January 16, 2020 | THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
Vladimir Bukovsky, who gained world renown as a leader of the Soviet human rights movement, died of congestive heart failure in Britain on October 27, but his legacy lives on. Read full article>>
