From Chechnya to Ukraine, from Moscow’s weakened diplomacy to the rise of open-source intelligence, Christian Caryl sees a Russian system far more fragile than it appears.
In this five-part conversation with Jacob Heilbrunn, the Foreign Policy Magazine columnist explains how Putin’s vulnerabilities are multiplying: Ramzan Kadyrov’s uncertain future, Ukraine’s drone warfare deep inside Russia, Moscow’s dependence on China, Europe’s energy emancipation, and the growing power of a pluralistic Ukrainian democracy on Russia’s border.
Behind the image of control, Caryl describes a chaotic, corrupt and volatile system.
Authoritarian regimes can endure.
But they can also crack suddenly.
Christian Caryl Decodes Putin’s Fragile Empire
by
June 2026
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