Opinion: Vladimir Putin and the Myth that Just Won’t Die

It should be possible to judge Putin harshly whilst acknowledging that he does not govern Russia alone, says Dr Ben Noble (UCL School of Slavonic & East European Studies). "Governance in Russia is a one-man show." Countless attempts have been made to kill off the claim. Vladimir Putin is not 'a cross between Joseph Stalin and a Bond movie villain', nor does he command a 'well-oiled machine' of governance with ruthless efficiency. For those commentators who think that politics in Russia is about more than Putin, making points such as these on repeat to challenge the myth can become something of an occupational hazard. In a recent Chatham House report, Ekaterina Schulmann and I join the long list of critics of the "one-man show" model. Why bother, you might ask. One reason is pure doggedness.
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