The Navalny paradox
A frontal attack; a consolidated regime
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Putin regime will continue to remain stable so long as it fulfils the funda-mental obligations of a state towards the population. However, numerous resources of legitimacy of Putin’s rule have been exhausted, as a result of which the regime is increasingly resorting to repressive measures and is barricading itself off from the outside world. With the publication of his video about Putin, Alexei Navalny orchestrated a frontal attack on the regime. However, while he may have triggered protests on the streets, the criticism of Putin’s sultanism has contributed to a homogenisation of the elite. Any challenger who wants to be successful will have to offer attractive incentives to defect to those groups that are currently dependent on the patronage of the regime.
(Osteuropa 12/2020, pp. 3–1)