Stephen Kotkin: Russia’s Murky Future | Foreign Affairs Interview

When Russia botched its invasion of Ukraine and the West quickly came together in support of Kyiv, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power appeared shakier than ever. Last summer, an attempted coup even seemed to threaten his rule. But today, Putin looks confident. With battlefield progress in Ukraine and political turmoil ahead of the U.S. election in November, there’s reason to think things are turning in his favor. The historian Stephen Kotkin joins us to discuss what this means for Russia’s future—and how the United States can be ready for whatever that future holds. Kotkin is the Kleinheinz Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He is the author of the forthcoming book Stalin: Totalitarian Superpower, 1941–1990s, the last in his three-volume biography of the Soviet leader. Sources: “The Five Futures of Russia” by Stephen Kotkin https://www.foreignaffairs.com/russian-federation/five-futures-russia-stephen-kotkin “The Talks That Could Have Ended the War in Ukraine” by Samuel Charap and Sergey Radchenko https://www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/talks-could-have-ended-war-ukraine You can find transcripts and more episodes of The Foreign Affairs Interview at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/podcasts/foreign-affairs-interview. Never miss an episode. Sign up for the Foreign Affairs Interview newsletter, delivered every other Thursday: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/newsletter/the_foreign_affairs_interview?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube_posts&utm_campaign=podcast_notes Subscribe to the rest of our free newsletters here: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/newsletter?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube_posts&utm_campaign=podcast_notes