Pål Kolstø, professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Oslo, has written extensively on nation-building and ethnic issues in Russia and Eastern Europe.
The Kremlin wields food as a weapon and a shield against Western interference. But Putin’s push for food autarky could backfire, driving up prices and turning Russians against the regime.
The image of Putin’s Russia as an authoritarian oil state attracts many Western analysts because it seems to carry a promise that falling oil prices will bring regime change. Thus,…
