Try to Imagine Russia After Putin

In March 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin won an unsurprising landslide reelection victory, securing 87% of the vote in an election that had no credible opposition. However, dissent was visible throughout the country. With Putin ruling since the turn of the century and a domestic situation arguably more unstable than it has been in decades, many are wondering what Russia’s future will look like when he is no longer in charge.

Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Leon Aron addresses this question using Russia’s history as a guide.

The following is an excerpt from the above video:

We cannot, of course, predict the future, but we can look at several factors that could shape post-Putin Russia. Some are hopeful, others rather depressing. 

In Russian history, we see a pendulum swinging from generally repressive, sometimes tyrannical regimes to somewhat less brutal ones, what we might call more liberal. We saw this change in the early 17th century with Mikhail Romanov actually being elected tsar by the National Assembly of the Nobles after the death of the sadistic Ivan the Terrible. After a 40-year interlude of misfits and perverts, the totalitarian Peter the Great was replaced by Catherine the Great, who corresponded with Voltaire and had Diderot as her guest in St. Petersburg.