What the last 20 years look like for the country
Vladimir Putin has been ruling Russia for more than 20 years. During this time he has created a sustainable authoritarian system, a targeted repression apparatus, and a powerful propaganda machine—all of which allow him to compete with relative success both inside Russia and abroad. To mark this grim milestone, IMR launched “Russia under Putin” project to take a bird’s-eye view of the last two decades, focusing on social and political developments that are often found beyond the narratives related to Putin.
The project is organized in two parts. The first part is a series of three reports dedicated to Russian civil society forces that operate under authoritarian conditions—protest movement, civil society organizations, and independent media. The second part is a timeline that retraces key events that have defined Russia’s political agenda over the last 20 years.
