Russia´s Inner Workings: How Putin Keeps Control and How He Might Lose It

The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has become increasingly unpredictable in its actions, reaching a new nadir with the history-reversing and international law-breaking invasion of Ukraine. Now, more than ever, it is important to take a look at the inner workings of the Russian state. What structures are Putin bound to? Who has an influence on Putin and what are their positions? What role do the oligarchs really play? And how effective is Russian propaganda?

Join the discussion on between Professor Timothy M. Frye, Marshall D. Shulman Professor of Post-Soviet Foreign Policy and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Columbia University; Professor Anna Ohanyan, Richard B. Finnegan Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Stonehill College, and Dr. Stanislav Budnitsky, Scholar of Russian media politics at the Russian and East European Institute at Indiana University-Bloomington and the Centre for Global Cooperation Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, to explore the inner workings of Putin´s government and Russian politics.
-------
Follow us at:
Twitter: @Network2020
LinkedIn: Network 20/20
Facebook: @network2020
Instagram: @network_2020

00:00 Introduction
2:25 Putin´s domestic balance of power
6:49 Russia´s self-perception in Eurasia
11:07 The Russian media landscape is tightening
18:09 The mental state of Vladimir Putin
23:38 Neighborhood influences on Russia´s domestic politics
29:24 Russian Internet and Social Media control
36:52 Ethnic identification in Ukraine
41:37 Dugin and the influence of the Orthodox Church
45:05 Mothers amd their role in public opinion
50:33 The social contract in Russia
55:03 Succession in modern Russia
59:03
Upcoming Events

[Kafkaesque]

1. Why were Russian media outlets blocked by champions of freedom of speech? Why was an academic like Dugin blocked? Why are skeptics even in the west being subjected to cancel culture?
2. Media caters to what the people want. Could "agitainment" be due to neo-con policies aimed at taming Russia?
3. Mearsheimer is one of the few voices (largely ignored by institutional media outlets lately) who makes sense.