Why Putin's Rigged Elections Matter

Russia’s presidential election is not until March 17, and yet Vladimir Putin’s victory has already been preordained. Still, the election presents a rare legal opportunity for dissent.
The recent death of Alexei Navalny, Putin’s most vocal and popular challenger, galvanized thousands to turn out to pay tribute to him, defying the police. While an uptick in dissent will not change the election’s results, might it signal the emergence of more serious and sustained resistance to Putin? Personalist authoritarian regimes like Putin’s are hard but brittle; small cracks caused by seemingly minor events can spread quickly and threaten the stability of the entire system.
Join Eurasia Head of Research Robert Hamilton, András Tóth-Czifra, and Olga Khvostunova as they discuss the evolution of Putin’s regime during his almost quarter century in power, the state of popular resistance, and what the future might hold for a post-Putin Russia.