Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, the world has contended with the stakes of the conflict, and what the war means for Russia’s relationship with the West—and beyond. Should Russia still be considered a great power? What in Russia’s past explains the mistakes it’s making today? Will unity in the West outlast the war? What is Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate goal in Ukraine, and is it changing?
Stephen Kotkin is the author of seminal scholarship on Russia, the Soviet Union, and global history, including an acclaimed three-volume biography of Joseph Stalin. He is a professor at Princeton University and a fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford. Kotkin brings formidable historical depth and a sharp sense of the current geopolitical landscape to these questions about Russia, Putin’s leadership, and Ukraine’s future.
We discuss why Russia’s capabilities too often fall short of its ambitions, why Putin underestimated the West (and why the West tends to underestimate itself), what China is learning from Russia’s experience, and what could happen next in Ukraine.
“The Foreign Affairs Interview” is produced by Kate Brannen, Julia Fleming-Dresser, Rafaela Siewert, and Markus Zakaria. Special thanks to Grace Finlayson, Nora Revenaugh, Caitlin Joseph, Asher Ross, and Gabrielle Sierra. Our theme music was written and performed by Robin Hilton.
If you have thoughts or guest suggestions, email us at [email protected]
48H1 on May 26th, 2022 at 20:59 UTC »
Please include a transcript
ICLazeru on May 26th, 2022 at 20:47 UTC »
After listening to it, a short summary.
Perceptions of the decline of the west have been greatly exaggerated. Both Putin and Xi Xingping mistakenly believed the US and other western aligned nations could not act in concert with unity and believed they could exploit this. While it was true to a degree, since Putin got away with Georgia and Crimea, it is also clearly the case that the west can actually unite and respond.
Not only is the west capable of this, but it still controls all the meaningful global institutions. Finance and currency, diplomacy, technology, and militarily, there really is no other center of power than the west. The fact that they have largely been sitting on this power was mistaken for weakness. Now, Putin's best option may be to simply bunker down and hope the west loses interest or that some other unforseen factor can help him.
There is also a bit of conversation about Russian history, and why they continuously fall into strongman political regimes.
ForeignAffairsMag on May 26th, 2022 at 18:17 UTC »
[SS]
"If you're Putin, you're holding out not just for those weaknesses that you perceive or hope are there ... Something else could happen in the world that could come to your rescue."
Listen to the first episode of our new podcast, “The Foreign Affairs Interview,” featuring a conversation with Stephen Kotkin on Russian history, Putin’s leadership, and what will happen next in Ukraine.