By calling for Putin’s removal from power, Western officials and scholars magnify Russian historic fears of a state collapse. Worse, they them by fueling the Kremlin propaganda machine reinforcing Russians’ reluctance to turn against their regime. Still, Putin will inevitably have go someday. When that day arrives, however, it is all but clear what future Russia be. Will after necessarily colla...

Throughout its short history, federal relations in Russia have been dominated by extra-legal political and economic relations rather than constitutionalism and the rule of law. The Russian Federation’s unique blend of constitutional, socioeconomic, and political asymmetry, far from promoting democracy, has bolstered authoritarian regimes in the regions. Federalism and regional democracy have al...

SOMEONE SHOULD INFORM RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin, who is seeking to displace scientists and germ plasm at the Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry so federal bureaucrats can move into the space (“Prestigious plant institute in jeopardy,” News of the Week, 31 Jan., p. 641), that 61 years ago, several Vavilov scientists sacrificed their lives in a truly heroic, unprecedented, and ultimately ...