Mikhail Zygar

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Putin Won’t End the War. He Can’t Afford To.

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There is, at last, a breakthrough in efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

After weeks of tortuous recriminations and reprisals, encapsulated by that notorious scene in the Oval Office, the United States and Ukraine last week agreed on a 30-day cease-fire. Military assistance and intelligence sharing, once paused, have resumed. Since President Trump took office, the saga of the war has played out almost entirely between America and Ukraine, with Russia somewhere in the background. Now all eyes are on Moscow.

People hoping for peace are likely to be disappointed. Despite President Vladimir Putin of Russia signaling readiness for a deal, nothing could be further from the truth.…  Seguir leyendo »

Putin ve al Estados Unidos de Trump precipitándose al desastre

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Los resultados de las elecciones en Estados Unidos fueron recibidos con entusiasmo en Moscú. El presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, parecía genuinamente contento cuando lo felicitó. Pero no es porque Donald Trump sea visto como un político pro-Rusia o incluso como uno de los suyos, esas ilusiones se desvanecieron hace tiempo. Tampoco se debe a la perspectiva de un acuerdo de paz ventajoso en Ucrania, negociado despiadadamente por Trump. La primera llamada entre los dos líderes, que el Kremlin niega que haya tenido lugar, sugiere que el gobierno entrante no será fácil de convencer.

En cambio, la emoción proviene de otra cosa.…  Seguir leyendo »

Putin Sees America Hurtling to Disaster, With Trump at the Wheel

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The American election results were received with enthusiasm in Moscow. President Vladimir Putin, offering his congratulations, seemed genuinely pleased. But it’s not because Donald Trump is seen as a pro-Russian politician or even one of their own — those illusions faded long ago. Nor is it the prospect of an advantageous peace deal in Ukraine, ruthlessly brokered by Mr. Trump. The first reported call between the two leaders, which the Kremlin denies took place, suggests that the incoming administration will be no pushover.

Instead, the excitement comes from something else. It’s that to many in the Kremlin, a Trump presidency might bring about the collapse of the American state.…  Seguir leyendo »

Boris Nadezhdin’s wildfire candidacy caught Russia’s imagination.Credit...Natalia Kolesnikova/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

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President Vladimir Putin has always made expert use of puppets. These are regime-friendly politicians who, at the Kremlin’s behest or with its blessing, pose as opposition candidates but never stray into genuinely challenging territory. This system has existed for a long time — at least since Mr. Putin’s first re-election in 2004 — and has always worked perfectly: It maintains the facade of Russia’s imitation democracy. But in the run-up to the presidential election in March, the arrangement seems to have broken down. Mr. Putin’s puppets have begun to come to life.

A month ago, many Russian voters had never even heard of Boris Nadezhdin.…  Seguir leyendo »

Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg on Nov. 17. (Pavel Bednyakov/Sputnik/AP)

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Twenty months ago, after Vladimir Putin had launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, many high-ranking Russians believed that the end was near. The economy faced disaster, as they saw it, and the Putin regime was on the brink of collapse.

Today, the mood has changed dramatically. Business leaders, officials and ordinary people tell me that the economy has stabilized, defying the Western sanctions that were once expected to have a devastating effect. Putin’s regime, they say, looks more stable than at any other time in the past two years.

Restaurants in Moscow are packed. “The restaurant market is growing, not only in Moscow, but throughout Russia, facilitated by the development of domestic tourism”, says a top Russian restaurateur.…  Seguir leyendo »

El hombre que está detrás de la retorcida visión que Putin tiene de la historia

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A partir de este mes, todos los estudiantes de bachillerato de Rusia tienen un nuevo libro de texto de Historia. En sus páginas, encontrarán un relato asombrosamente simplista de los últimos 80 años —desde el final de la Segunda Guerra Mundial hasta el presente— que prácticamente lleva la firma del Kremlin.

Llamarlo revisionismo se queda muy corto. Stalin, a diferencia de cómo se lo solía representar en los libros de texto rusos de los últimos 30 años, es presentado como un dirigente sabio y eficaz gracias al cual la Unión Soviética ganó la guerra y la gente común empezó a vivir mucho mejor.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Man Behind Putin’s Warped View of History

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Starting this month, all high school students in Russia have a new history textbook. On its pages, they’ll find a strikingly simplistic account of the past 80 years — from the end of World War II to the present — that all but comes with the Kremlin’s signature.

Revisionism doesn’t begin to cover it. Stalin, in contrast to the standard depiction in Russian textbooks over the past 30 years, is presented as a wise and effective leader thanks to whom the Soviet Union won the war and ordinary people began to live much better. Repressions are mentioned, but in an accusatory way.…  Seguir leyendo »

Putin Thinks He’s Still in Control. He’s Not

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The Scarlet Sails festival is one of Russia’s most popular holidays. A celebration of high school graduates held in St. Petersburg, it culminates in a spectacular light show, where ships — including one with scarlet sails — pass along the Neva River, fireworks cracking above them. Teenagers mill about the city and drink on the banks of the river while members of the Russian elite, officials and oligarchs alike, congregate to drink champagne on their luxurious yachts. No one enjoys the occasion more than President Vladimir Putin, who loves this student holiday in his hometown and never misses a private party on the river, watching the ships go by.…  Seguir leyendo »

Sasha Dovzhyk's work on Ukraine is supported by the IWM project, Documenting Ukraine. Courtesy Sasha Dovzhyk

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It’s the evening of February 23, 2022. In Kyiv, the boss of a news site relaxes with a bath and candles. In Zaporizhzhia, a young woman goes to bed planning to celebrate her husband’s birthday in the morning. In Moscow, a journalist happens to postpone his travel plans to Kyiv.

Within hours, their lives are dramatically and radically transformed. The next day, Russian President Vladimir Putin launches his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

In the space of a year, the war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions more. It has unleashed unfathomable atrocities, decimated cities, driven a global food and energy crisis and tested the resolve of western alliances.…  Seguir leyendo »

Yevgeny Prigozhin. Anadolu Agency, via Getty Images

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Al parecer, el presidente de Rusia, Vladimir Putin, por fin se dio cuenta de que la guerra en Ucrania creó a un competidor peligroso para su poder: Yevgeny Prigozhin, fundador de la empresa militar privada Grupo Wagner, cuyas tropas combaten junto al ejército ruso.

Dependiendo del punto de vista de cada persona, Prigozhin podría ser considerado la persona del año o el villano del año. Según varias fuentes de Moscú, Putin confía en poder debilitar a Prigozhin, quien ha tenido tensiones con el Estado Mayor del ejército. Sin embargo, el efecto podría ser el contrario, y más gente vería a Prigozhin como la figura con más probabilidades de suceder a Putin.…  Seguir leyendo »

President Vladimir Putin, left, meeting with members of Russia’s Security Council last month. Photo by Alexei Nikolsky/EPA, via Shutterstock

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Thanks to Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine, Russia is now more isolated than it has ever been. The economy is under sanctions and international businesses are withdrawing. The news media has been even further restricted; what remains spouts paranoia, nationalism and falsehoods. The people will have increasingly less communication with others beyond their borders. And in all of this, I fear, Russia increasingly resembles its president.

I have been talking to high-level businessmen and Kremlin insiders for years. In 2016 I published a book, “All the Kremlin’s Men”, about Mr. Putin’s inner circle. Since then I’ve been gathering reporting for a potential sequel.…  Seguir leyendo »