Putin, Russia and the West

Fiona Hill will look at if Vladimir Putin can re-invent himself once again or is his grip on power loosening? And is there a role for the West to play in these developments or shall it adopt a wait-and-see strategy?

Guests

Fiona Hill, Director, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings

Chaired by

Jana Kobzova, Wider Europe Policy Fellow, ECFR

What does Vladimir Putin’s third presidential term mean for the West? As discontent inside Russia grows, is a shake-up of the ruling class inevitable? Can Vladimir Putin re-invent himself once again or is his grip on power loosening? And is there a role for the West to play in these developments or shall it adopt a wait-and-see strategy? Fiona Hill will address these and other questions in conversation with Jana Kobzova.

Fiona Hill is director of the Center on the United States and Europe, and senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at The Brookings Institution. She is a frequent commentator on Russian and Eurasian affairs, who has researched and published extensively on issues related to Russia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, regional conflicts, energy, and strategic issues. She is also the co-author of the newly released book Mr. Putin: Operative in the Kremlin (Brookings Press, 2013).

Jana Kobzova is a policy fellow and coordinator of the Wider Europe programme at ECFR. Before joining ECFR, she worked at the Bratislava-based Pontis Foundation where she headed the Belarus democratisation programme in 2006-2009. She writes on Eastern Europe and Russia.