Putin and Russia in 2018–24. What Next?

This research paper examined two principal questions.

+ To what extent – if at all – will the 2018 presidential election lead to change in the policies and nature of Russia’s system of government in the coming six-year term?

+ And to what extent – again if at all – can it be assumed that the great majority of Russians will continue to accept their current passive role within this system?

The analysis focused chiefly on Russia’s internal affairs, and their interaction with the country’s foreign interests, rather than on a detailed and inevitably speculative discussion of a range of specifically international issues.

As 2024 approached, the question of who or what would replace Putin would come increasingly to the fore.