Club Lunch- Russia: A Declining Power With Few Friends

Russia is fighting in Syria and in Eastern Ukraine, but the largest country of the planet can hardly sustain economic growth and social welfare at home. Hydrocarbons exports and arms sales bring substantial revenues, but the investment climate remains unattractive. Whilst Vladimir Putin is swaggering on the international scene, at home he is facing the disenchantment of many among the elites and middle class. What are his options, domestically and in foreign affairs? Is the confrontation with Europe, the USA and Canada bound to last?

Dr. Marie Mendras is a leading European scholar on Russia and Ukraine, where she often travels to teach, do research, and serve as election observer. She teaches at Sciences Po Paris and is currently a visiting scholar at HK Baptist University. Dr. Mendras also taught at Paris 1-Sorbonne and the London School of Economics. She was educated at Harvard University. Among her recent publications in English: “Russian Elites Are Worried: The Unpredictability of Putinism” (Transatlantic Academy Papers, Washington D.C., 2016). « The Rising Cost of Russia’s Authoritarian Foreign Policy » (Palgrave, 2015) and “Russian Politics. The Paradox of a Weak State (Hurst, 2012)”