Putin’s Power and Why It Won’t Last

For Vlad, winter is coming

Photo by A Ricardo / License purchased by author

“Pretty good for a Russian,” said Dmitry, my Russian client/colleague.

It was 2005 and I was working with him in Moscow on the then embryonic bid for Sochi, Russia to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. With a combination of pride and embarrassment, Dmitry couldn’t help commenting on his performance — a review of the documents that…