"Russians follow orders; people are afraid – more afraid of the state – than of dying."

"History shows that the process of modernization leads societies to form liberal democracies with market systems. Yet …"

"Putin’s control of the media is becoming more and more comprehensive. What is left over, that ownership does not ensu…"

"I think the idea people had after 1991 that there would be a quick transition is clearly wrong... A lot of it has to …"

"In 1999 the ailing Yeltsin anointed a former Leningrad KGB boss, Vladimir Putin, as his successor. The contrast was t…"

"The predominance of the intelligence services and mentality is a core feature of Putin’s Russia that marks a major an…"

"We are hurtling back into a Soviet abyss, into an information vacuum that spells death from our own ignorance. All we…"

"... [A]uthoritarianism is the real curse of Russia and the cause of all its troubles. We cannot get rid of it, despit…"

"We will never know if Putin could win a free and fair election again, because there will never be such an election wh…"

"Democracy never took hold in Russia, in the sense that power never changed hands after freely contested elections."