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The co-construction of Russian authoritarianism, say Samuel Greene and Graeme Robertson in their new book, Putin v. the People: The Perilous Politics of a Divided Russia, occurs in millions of homes, workplaces, schools, and churches as ordinary citizens act in their own interests, not just President Vladimir Putin’s. That is what makes the system durable, but it is also what makes it vulnerable.

The anti-extremist legislation is a fairly broad, flexible toolkit that is well adapted to legal abuse; it is a striking example of what, early in Vladimir Putin’s tenure, was referred to as the “dictatorship of the law.” Recently, one of its elements has been softened—a rare, even unique development in a regime that has become increasingly harsh in recent years. Alexander Verkhovsky explores the probable reasons for this softening and suggests how it might play out in practice.

One hundred days after the establishment of the autocephalous Ukrainian Church, it faces grave opposition from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate. Nor is there any unanimity within the Church itself; instead, it features a range of conflicting groups, factions, and centers of influence.