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.
Vladimir Putin’s reputation as a skillful leader was buoyed by years of economic good fortune. But when his regime faltered, his rule quickly descended into the fearful, repressive, and paranoid…
Events last November confouned expectations set by the failure of democratization in Russia and other ex-Soviet republics, and should prompt new reflections on how fragile openings to democacy may be…
