A General Climate of Fear

RUSSIA is once again becoming the country it has always been, where the will of the ruler in the Kremlin is the supreme law. President Vladimir Putin is drawing a line under the Gorbachev-Yeltsin era of comparative democracy. In foreign and domestic policies, Putin has been concentrating power into his own hands. The Federal Security Service, or FSB in its Russian acronym, has simply taken over from its predecessor, the KGB, as the arm of state to make sure the ruler has his way. Putin’s term of office ends next year, but yes-men are already proposing to change the constitution in order to extend his presidency.

Elimination of rival claimants to power testifies to this reversion to the past. The lucky ones are able to escape into exile abroad. One such is Boris Berezovsky. Once preeminent among the nouveaux riches oligarchs, he used to be a crony of Putin’s, on whose behalf he acted as a powerbroker. Making his own ambitions too plain, he condemned himself to flight.

About the Author

David Pryce-Jones

David Pryce-Jones (1936–2025) was a British author and commentator and served as a senior editor of National Review.

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RUSSIA is once again becoming the country it has always been, where the will of the ruler in the Kremlin is the supreme law. President Vladimir Putin is drawing a line under the Gorbachev-Yeltsin era of comparative democracy. In foreign and domestic policies, Putin has been concentrating power into his own hands. The Federal Security Service, or FSB in its Russian acronym, has simply taken over from its predecessor, the KGB, as the arm of state to make sure the ruler has his way. Putin’s term of office ends next year, but yes-men are already proposing to change the constitution in order to extend his presidency.

Elimination of rival claimants to power testifies to this reversion to the past. The lucky ones are able to escape into exile abroad. One such is Boris Berezovsky. Once preeminent among the nouveaux riches oligarchs, he used to be a crony of Putin’s, on whose behalf he acted as a powerbroker. Making his own ambitions too plain, he condemned himself to flight.