(Huffington Post) Responding to the renewed crisis in Ukraine, on Tuesday the European Union (EU) moved towards imposing economic sanctions on associates of Vladimir Putin, with foreign ministers agreeing to "concrete proposals" to create a list of the president’s "cronies" who would be subject to punitive measures.
Following on from sanctions earlier imposed by Washington, this week’s push by the EU to inflict more punishing strictures against Russia’s elites could not only have far-reaching consequences for the future conflict between Moscow and Kiev, but pose an existential threat to the Putin regime. […]
"The Russian political system rewards strong leaders who can keep order and stability, while providing the opportunity for people to gain economically," Kimberly Marten, a professor of political science at Barnard College and Columbia University, told HuffPost. "The alternative in the minds of the population and the inner circle of elites is the terrible instability and violence of the 1990s."
According to Samuel Greene, the Director of the Russia Institute at King’s College London, the security establishment (members of the military and the secret services), and the ideological establishment (nationalists), both of which espouse a very isolationist agenda, are "pushing up against the interests of the business elites" who profit from the ability to move money and goods across borders.
See the full article © Huffington Post
Recent press appearances by Kimberly Marten:
Interview with Marten on MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show about what the international community can do to place pressure on Russia.
Recent interview on WNYC’s The Takeaway about new U.S. sanctions against Russia.
Marten was a guest on Minnesota Public Radio’s The Daily Circuit to discuss escalating tensions in Russia following the crash of Flight MH 17.
For Mashable, Marten weighs in on the potential reopening of a Russian spy base in Cuba. Read the article.
