The strategy of Russia’s liberal elite is clear: make your peace with Putin. It’s how they survive | Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan
#Russian elite #Vladimir Putin #Political adaptation #Cultural propaganda #Wartime survival #EU isolation #Kremlin loyalty #Olga Lyubimova
📌 Key Takeaways
- Russia's elite has adapted to Putin's rule rather than resisting
- Cultural awards ceremonies showcase loyalty to the Kremlin
- Elite members like Olga Lyubimova have chosen accommodation over opposition
- Despite isolation from the West, the elite still desires acceptance there
- The boundaries of acceptable behavior are narrowing, leading to further isolation
📖 Full Retelling
Four years into Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, the country's liberal elite has largely adapted to Vladimir Putin's rule rather than resisting it, reshaping themselves to ensure survival in what increasingly appears to be a state of permanent conflict, as evidenced by the recent government-backed cultural awards ceremonies in Moscow. These elite figures, including high-ranking officials and public intellectuals responsible for ruling the country and shaping public discourse, remain reluctant to express their true thoughts in the current repressive atmosphere, instead presenting narratives through cultural events that demonstrate loyalty to the Kremlin. The recent Moscow book and film festivals exemplify this accommodation, with prizes awarded to figures like Nikita Mikhalkov—a celebrated director and known imperialist close to Putin—while the content presented avoided any dissent or subtle critique of the current state of affairs. Olga Lyubimova, Russia's culture minister and a protégé of Mikhalkov, represents the clearest example of how the elite has adapted to wartime reality, having built a career through connections rather than merit and now actively promoting the war in Ukraine and Russification of occupied territories. Despite their accommodation with the Kremlin, many elite members still desire acceptance in the West, as evidenced by Lyubimova's pride in attending Pope Francis's funeral in Rome, though such opportunities have become increasingly rare due to EU travel bans, forcing the elite to redirect their attention to partnerships with countries like Brazil and Qatar in Russia's geopolitical pivot away from the West.
🏷️ Themes
Political adaptation, Elite survival strategies, Cultural propaganda, Isolationism
📚 Related People & Topics
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia (2000–2008; since 2012)
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. He has...
Entity Intersection Graph
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy
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List of wars involving Ukraine
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Russia
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Boris Johnson
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Original Source
The strategy of Russia’s liberal elite is clear: make your peace with Putin. It’s how they survive Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan As the fourth anniversary looms of Russia’s war on Ukraine, those close to the Kremlin prosper while others merely strive to escape the worst repression F our years into the full-scale war in Ukraine, Russia’s elite has shown no sign of resisting the very difficult spot that Vladimir Putin placed them in by acting without their consultation. Instead, it has largely adapted, reshaping itself in ways that ensure its survival in what increasingly looks like a state of permanent conflict. In the atmosphere of repression, Russian top-level officials and public intellectuals, who are tasked with ruling the country and shaping what society thinks and discusses, remain reluctant to express directly what they really think. The narratives they offer through culture are therefore some of the clearest expressions of how they see their role in a wartime country. This year, Moscow has hosted two major government-backed awards ceremonies – one for books, one for films. In both cases, the organisers played it safe, repeating familiar themes, many of them rooted in Soviet-era cultural and wartime mythology. Prizes went largely to people within the same orbit – in most cases, the families of well-known Soviet-era cultural icons. At the book festival, the grand prize went to Nikita Mikhalkov , a celebrated Soviet and Russian film director who is known for many things but not for writing books. The Mikhalkovs would win by a wide margin any competition for the family that has stayed closest to the Kremlin for the longest. Nikita’s father, Sergei , wrote the Soviet national anthem under Joseph Stalin, rewrote it during the thaw and revised it again under Putin. Nikita, now 80, is a clearcut imperialist and a close ally of Putin. The main film prize went to an interpretation of a second world war story, co-directed by the son of another famous Soviet actor. ...
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