While repression has always been a part of Putinism, it is also a system built on securing the acquiescence and acceptance, if not active support, of the people at large. For individual Russians, this means the process of building meaningful lives and careers involves compromise and co-operation with the political regime, even if it is those very compromises that allow the regime to function. These themes are the subject of Joshua Yaffa’s book, Between Two Fires, in which he examines the lives of Russians, and why they make the choices that keeps Putin in power. In his talk, Joshua Yaffa will address these themes in the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the impact it has had.
Joshua Yaffa is a correspondent for the New Yorker previously based in Moscow, and a fellow at New America. His work has appeared the Economist, The New Republic, and Foreign Affairs among other periodicals. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and the University of Chicago.