Lucian Kim
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Putin

Sleepwalking into Conflict with the Kremlin

Published April 1, 2024 in The Wilson Quarterly Leave a comment

NATO and the EU raised membership expectations without ever intending to follow through. As a result, Ukraine became vulnerable to Russian revanchism.

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The Legacy of a True Russian Patriot

Published February 16, 2024 in Journal of Democracy Leave a comment

Even though Alexei Navalny’s death was foretold so often, it is hard to grasp the magnitude of this loss for Russia.

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Prigozhin’s Mutiny Is the Beginning of Putin’s End

Published June 24, 2023 in Foreign Policy Leave a comment

Nobody in Russia understands what the war in Ukraine is about. And after Prigozhin’s rebellion, nobody knows if that war might not still come to Russia.

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Putin’s War on Young People

Published March 19, 2023 in Foreign Policy Leave a comment

If Russia is ever to become a country that seeks peace with its neighbors, then such a future depends on its young people.

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The Other Jan. 6

Published January 5, 2023 in Foreign Policy Leave a comment

“We still have no answers to millions of questions,” said Vyacheslav Abramov. “It’s important for the future of the country to understand what happened.”

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A Russian Dissident Is Sentenced in Moscow

Published December 9, 2022 in Foreign Policy Leave a comment

Ilya Yashin’s evolution from protest leader to persecuted dissident mirrors the metamorphosis of Putin’s “managed democracy” into a totalitarian state.

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Russian Exiles Struggle to Form a United Opposition to Putin

Published November 28, 2022 in Foreign Policy Leave a comment

“We aren’t waiting for the fall of the regime,” said Lyubov Sobol. “We’re actively working toward it and want to get there as fast as possible.”

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Why Isn’t Russia a Democracy?

Published October 30, 2022 in Foreign Policy Leave a comment

Russia was not preordained to despotism nor to a clash with the West. So how did things go so wrong?

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Why the World Should Be Worried About Chechnya

Published October 19, 2022 in Foreign Policy Leave a comment

“The disintegration of Russia is inevitable,” said Zarina Sautieva. “If chaos breaks out in the Kremlin, Kadyrov will be the first to declare independence.”

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Putin Should Pay One More Visit to Kiev

Published January 11, 2005 in The Moscow Times Leave a comment

Everyone I’ve talked to resents Putin’s two visits to campaign for Yanukovych but goes to great lengths to explain how warm their feelings for Russia are.

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Putin’s War on Young People

If Russia is ever to become a country that seeks peace with its neighbors and respects the rights of its own citizens, then such a future depends on Russia’s young people.

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About Lucian

Based in Berlin and Moscow, I reported from the former Soviet empire for 25 years for NPR, Reuters, Slate, Bloomberg, and others. My first book, Putin’s Revenge: Why Russia Invaded Ukraine, is now available from Columbia University Press.

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