Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia - Chris Miller

The Institute of World Politics

About the Book: "Putin Watches Russian Economy Collapse along with His Economic Stature,” blared a headline in Time in late 2014. Yet three years have passed since the price of oil crashed in 2014, halving earnings on the product which once funded half of Russia’s government budget. That same year, the West imposed harsh economic sanctions on Russia’s banks, energy firms, and defense sector, cutting off many of Russia’s largest firms from international capital markets and high-tech oil drilling gear. Many analysts—in Russia as well as abroad—thought that economic crisis might threaten Vladimir Putin’s hold on power. It doesn’t look that way now. Today, Russia’s economy has stabilized, inflation is at historic lows, the budget is nearly balanced, and Putin is coasting toward reelection on March 18, giving him a fourth term as president. Putin has recently overtaken Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev as the longest-serving Russian leader since Stalin. How did he do it? This talk will examine Putin's economic policies and how they have supported his domestic and foreign policies. About the Author: Chris Miller is Assistant Professor of International History at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. He is also Eurasia Research Director at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is the author of Putinomics: Power and Money in Resurgent Russia (2018) and The Struggle to Save the Soviet Economy (2016). He received his PhD from Yale University and his AB from Harvard University.