9 Best Articles in 2022
Vox
Could Putin actually fall?
Vox
~14 min read · Mar 13th · What history teaches us about how autocrats lose power — and how Putin might hang on.
Reader View · Shared by 184, including Claudia Sommer, Kainaz Amaria
The New Yorker
The Weakness of the Despot
The New Yorker
3 min read · Mar 11th · An expert on Stalin discusses Putin, Russia, and the West.
Reader View · Shared by 373, including Bill McKibben, Cassandra Schadenfreude, Jason Hirschhorn, Julia Ioffe, Christopher Lauer, Mark Little, Dr. Pete Meyers, Noah Smith 🐇🇺🇦, Paul Graham, Anna Jane Joyner, Jeff Richards, Niall Ferguson, David Andolfatto, Alf Rehn, Rand Fishkin, Fabio Chiusi, Andrew Sullivan, Catherine De Vries, Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson 🐙, Eric Seufert
Quartz
The redefinition of masculinity is playing out in the fight between Zelenskyy and Putin
Quartz
2 min read · Mar 1st · Against Putin, Ukraine's president stands for freedom, but also for a new model of masculinity
Reader View · Shared by 125
POLITICO
‘Yes, He Would’: Fiona Hill on Putin and Nukes
POLITICO
20+ min read · Feb 28th · Putin is trying to take down the entire world order, the veteran Russia watcher said in an interview. But there are ways even ordinary Americans can fight back.
Reader View · Shared by 504, including Katharina Borchert, Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈, Carolyn Porco, anildash, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Eghosa Omoigui, Peter Steinberger, Tuur Demeester, Chris Bertram, Kelsey D. Atherton, 🌻 Laura Fitton (she/her) 🌻, Edward Harrison, M.G. Siegler, Kevin C. Tofel 🇺🇦, Data Pointed, rachel binx, Gergely Orosz, Andrew Revkin 🌎 ✍🏼 🪕 ☮️, Jason Stanley, Scott Monty
The Week
Could Putin really face a war crimes trial?
The Week
7 min read · Apr 9th · Skip to headerSkip to main contentSkip to footerPresident Biden called Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" in mid-March, after Russian forces bombed Ukrainian hospitals, schools, and a…
Reader View · Shared by 99
The New York Times
The Making of Vladimir Putin
The New York Times
20+ min read · Mar 26th · Tracing Putin’s 22-year slide from statesman to tyrant.
Reader View · Shared by 253, including Michael Shermer, Bill Johnston, David Papandrew, Rukmini Callimachi, Michael (मुकेश) 🇺🇦💪🏻, The Indian Express, Fabio Chiusi
The Atlantic
Only NATO Can Save Putin
The Atlantic
5 min read · Mar 17th · The odds of a palace coup against Putin are already low; the odds of such a move while Russia is at war with NATO are even lower.
Reader View · Shared by 80
octavian.substack.com
Putin in His Labyrinth: Alexander Gabuev on the View from Moscow
octavian.substack.com
~14 min read · Mar 15th · “If plan A doesn’t work, and it hasn’t, Putin is ready to turn Kiev and Kharkiv into Aleppo and Grozny.”
Reader View · Shared by 62
The Atlantic
What Putin Really Wants
The Atlantic
8 min read · Feb 3rd · He is threatening to invade Ukraine because he wants democracy to fail—and not just in that country.
Reader View · Shared by 167, including Stephan Woodtli, Johannes Lenz, Emmy van Deurzen☀️🌍 🌻🌹🌳🇪🇺🇫🇷🇳🇱🇬🇧🇺🇸⭐️, Marie-José Kolly, George Conway🌻, Luisa Weiss, Anne Applebaum, Jason Stanley, Klaus Eck, David Frum
Trending
The Atlantic
The War Won’t End Until Putin Loses
The Atlantic
7 min read · May 23rd · Offering the Russian president a face-saving compromise will only enable future aggression.
Reader View · Shared by 152, including Sascha Brossmann (he/him) 🇪🇺🇺🇦, Johannes Lenz, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, Anne Applebaum
The Economist
The Putin Show
The Economist
~11 min read · May 17th · How the war in Ukraine appears to Russians
Shared by 148, including Nick Lüthi, Richard Baxter, Tactical Tech, Lasse Lambrechts, Alex Selby-Boothroyd
The New York Times
Vladimir Putin, Family Man
The New York Times
~19 min read · May 13th · As Western nations place sanctions on people close to the Russian leader, including family members, the strict secrecy surrounding his private life is being punctured.
Reader View · Shared by 111, including Christopher Lauer, The Indian Express, Bernardo van Olst
The Atlantic
World War II Is All That Putin Has Left
The Atlantic
5 min read · May 11th · The regime offers Russians little more than selective memories of Soviet-era military triumph.
Reader View · Shared by 97, including Marvin “Polymath but really Just Generalist” Liao, Anne Applebaum
More like this
The Atlantic
The War Won’t End Until Putin Loses
The Atlantic
7 min read · May 23rd · Offering the Russian president a face-saving compromise will only enable future aggression.
Reader View · Shared by 152, including Sascha Brossmann (he/him) 🇪🇺🇺🇦, Johannes Lenz, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, Anne Applebaum
The Economist
The Putin Show
The Economist
~11 min read · May 17th · How the war in Ukraine appears to Russians
Shared by 148, including Nick Lüthi, Richard Baxter, Tactical Tech, Lasse Lambrechts, Alex Selby-Boothroyd
Puck
The Death of Putin
Puck
7 min read · Mar 8th · The anniversary of Stalin’s death last week was a cruel reminder inside Russia that history frequently repeats itself—and that toppling Putin wouldn’t necessarily put an end to his totalitarian…
Reader View · Shared by 135, including Baratunde, Michael (मुकेश) 🇺🇦💪🏻, Jeff Jarvis, Julia Ioffe
GQ Magazine
The Killers of Kiev: How Putin Created an Assassin’s Metropolis
GQ Magazine
~20 min read · From 2018 · If you're an enemy of Putin, there's one city where violence is sure to follow you. Here's why a new breed of gangster assassin stalks Kiev
Reader View · Shared by 41, including Nick Lüthi, Howard Getson
The New York Times
Vladimir Putin, Family Man
The New York Times
~19 min read · May 13th · As Western nations place sanctions on people close to the Russian leader, including family members, the strict secrecy surrounding his private life is being punctured.
Reader View · Shared by 111, including Christopher Lauer, The Indian Express, Bernardo van Olst
The Atlantic
World War II Is All That Putin Has Left
The Atlantic
5 min read · May 11th · The regime offers Russians little more than selective memories of Soviet-era military triumph.
Reader View · Shared by 97, including Marvin “Polymath but really Just Generalist” Liao, Anne Applebaum
BBC News (World)
Ukraine war: Putin has redrawn the world
BBC News (World)
~16 min read · Mar 19th · Because of his miscalculations, there's a new iron curtain at the Russian leader’s door - writes Allan Little
Reader View · Shared by 93, including Martin Steiger, Tauno, mrbrown
Financial Times
‘At war with the whole world’ — why Putin might be eyeing a long conflict in Ukraine
Financial Times
Apr 26th · Stalling peace talks and new offensive suggest Kremlin could escalate its ‘special operation’ into a ‘war’ against the west
The Atlantic
RIP Democracy
The Atlantic
20+ min read · From 2020 · Russia’s goal was never merely to elect Donald Trump. Now, Vladimir Putin is poised to complete the mission he began four years ago.
Reader View · Shared by 276, including LoriBeth, L. Taylor Banks, Matthias Lampe, Stig Ørskov, Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈, Michael (मुकेश) 🇺🇦💪🏻, Mathew Ingram, Joshua Benton