democracy vs authoritarian

While widespread violence or civil war was averted, the consequences for Russia—and Putin—could be grave.

The Russian autocrat’s system of control has rested on pillars that are beginning to crumble.

The system that Russia’s autocrat built wasn’t designed to survive the pressures it is now facing. March 2022  By Vladimir Milov The world’s attention is focused on the immense suffering of the brave Ukrainian people, and rightly so—no words can describe the misery and damage that Vladimir Putin has inflicted upon Ukraine with his unprovoked…

Russian rockets are targeting Ukrainian journalists’ ability to report the news, but the country’s media is finding new ways to stay on the air. 9 March 2022 By Marta Dyczok As I sat writing this article, the people I was writing about, many of whom are my friends, were being attacked by Russian military forces.…

For twenty years, the Russian autocrat enjoyed a string of good fortune in coming to power and cementing his rule. He had raised Russia’s standing in the world. Then he invaded Ukraine. | Michael McFaul

The democratic icon’s path to prime minister has been tortuous and long. But is Malaysia’s pluralism slipping away precisely when Anwar is getting his shot to lead the nation? | Sophie Lemière

Iranians are protesting their regime. Why it will only get worse for the mullahs. | By Peyman Asadzade

In a matter of weeks, the Russian autocrat has erased his country’s prosperity in a feckless attempt to rebuild a doomed empire. | By Kathryn Stoner

The Russian autocrat forgot an age-old truth about working with common criminals and soldiers for hire. By Zoltan Barany June 2023 A wonderful gift for Ukraine. My first thought upon reading the news that Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, had called for an armed rebellion was that this serious rupture within the Russian…

Chinese citizens from Urumqi to Shanghai took to the streets, blank sheets of white paper in hand, to denounce the CCP and call for change. Xi Jinping’s repression and zero-covid lockdowns have united the public in empathy and anger. | Guoguang Wu

Iran’s women were the Islamic Republic’s first target for repression. This is the newest chapter in their struggle to win back their rights. | Ladan Boroumand

Marine Le Pen has remade her image to obscure her far-right populism. There is a real risk French voters won’t see through it.  April 2022 By Agneska Bloch On April 24, French voters will go to the polls in a rematch of the 2017 presidential election: now President Emmanuel Macron versus far-right populist Marine Le…

How does a Russian autocrat celebrate Victory Day while losing a war? Expect lies, myths, and propaganda.  May 2022 By Olexiy Minakov Every year on May 9, Russia celebrates Victory Day to mark the 1945 triumph of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazism. The spirit of militant Russian patriotism reaches its apogee on…

The Russian leader declared war on his country’s independent journalists. But Russian media outsmarted him by taking their operations overseas. They are now reaching more people than ever before. | Roman Badanin

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine isn’t just another land grab. It’s an attempt to recolonize lost empire, and threatens to return us to the age of conquest. | Renée de Nevers and Brian D. Taylor

Russia’s autocrat may be weakened, but his grip on power is greater than many people realize. April 2022  By Maria Snegovaya In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have had a string of military victories, Russia has begun to pull back to eastern Ukraine, and Vladimir Putin appears increasingly isolated, with U.S. intelligence reporting that his advisors…