Kotkin has a distinguished reputation in academic circles. He is a professor of history at Princeton University and a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, at Stanford University. He has myriad sources in various realms of contemporary Russia: government, business, culture. Both principled and pragmatic, he is also more plugged in than any reporter or analyst I know. Ever since we met in Moscow, many years ago—Kotkin was doing research on the Stalinist industrial city of Magnitogorsk—I’ve found his guidance on everything from the structure of the Putin regime to its roots in Russian history to be invaluable.
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Earlier this week, I spoke with Kotkin about Putin, the invasion of Ukraine, the American and European response, and what comes next, including the possibility of a palace coup in Moscow. Our conversation, which appears in the video above, has been edited for length and clarity.
Catherine the Great was fooled with Potemkin villages, why not Putin?
I suspect Xi's underlings are also hiding bad news from their boss. When you can be shot for failing, it does make sense to lie and hope the truth never gets out.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
I do not understand , what are the Potemkin villages that are fooling Putin? If anything we are getting a false impression of what Zelenskyy is doing in Ukraine. He has shuttered Russian Orthodox churches, squelched the free press, what little there was, and continues to attempt to goad the U.S. into a war with Russia. Doing a good job in that he has gotten $100 billion from us with no accountability.
Putin was told his combat units were fully equipped and ready to go seize Ukraine. But the invasion revealed the units had not been maintained. Their tires were rotted, their night vision had been sold on the black market. Units had deserters even before the first battle but their commanders were still taking their pay. Massive corruption in the Russian Army.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
