Russia and the War Against Ukraine: a Watershed Moment

Yet too often, these implications are obscured from the wider view by the Kremlin’s aggressive propaganda and censorship and the Western fear of considering potential domestic trajectories for Russia as if discussing those would invite the worst possible outcome.

However, understanding these domestic implications is critical for developing a realistic view of Russia and accounting for geopolitical “shocks,” like the collapse of the Soviet Union and the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, which caught many Western policy-makers off guard.

The panel will consider how the Russian public perceives the war (which cannot be officially called such), what changes the government has introduced to tighten any space for dissent and alternative information, and how the war reverberates beyond Moscow as many of Russia’s remote regions have been forced to supply manpower to fight against Ukraine and bear the brunt of Western sanctions.

Speakers: