Russia's Unlikely Diplomat. Lyric Hughes Hale on Vladimir Putin

January 23, 2014 - 12:21pm

Vladimir Putin’s presidency could be seen as a triumph – one that has turned a bankrupt state into an energy superpower, built a new middle class out of post-Soviet wreckage, and defeated NATO expansion, while Russian incomes boomed more than 140 per cent. However, in this riveting new analysis, Fragile Empire: How Russia Fell in and Out of Love with Vladimir PutinBen Judah argues that Russia’s leader is not the strongman he appears. Putin may be victorious as a politician, but he has utterly failed to build a modern state. Once loved for its forcefulness and the spreading of new consumer lifestyles, Putin’s regime is now increasingly loathed for incompetence and corruption.

In this article, Yale author and EconVue editor-in-chief Lyric Hughes Hale compares her own understanding of Putin, which includes a near collision in a corridor, with that of Ben Judah. The recent diplomatic success that Putin has experienced in Syria won the Russian leader many plaudits, yet the American public increasingly perceives Russia as an enemy. Hale argues against this mistrust, suggesting that despite the numerous flaws and possible future collapse of the Russian leader, the West should seek to work with Putin the diplomat while we still can. Read the full article