Institute for Continuing Professional Development

Prof. Dr. Lilia Shevtsova

"Putin's Russia: New Global and Domestic Challenges of a Former World Power"

The second possible path for President Putin – reform of the regime – is riskier, without guarantees of success, and with a likelihood that he might break his neck. If the political steering wheel is not turned wisely, reform could end up in Gorbachevism, with the leader losing control of power and events. But Vladimir Putin could be lucky. If he decided to de-hermeticize the regime and managed to cross thin ice without falling in, he would accomplish what no Russian or Soviet leader ever had: He would begin building a responsible system of governance based not on the irrational and mystic power embodied in the leader but on the rule of law. That would be a new chapter in Russian history. Overcoming the self and finding new impulses or a new destiny is enough to make any nation great and any leader worth remembering.