The Atlantic

How Putin Made Political Corruption Great Again

His brand of crony capitalism has come to define the status quo in Russia.
Source: Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin

As Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump prepare for their first face-to-face meeting in Germany, it’s easy to imagine the Russian president gloating over the disarray he’s sown across the world. He has upended the post-Cold War security order in Europe. His armies of cyber warriors have threatened democracy across the continent. His military has saved Bashar al-Assad’s regime, making a mockery of the America’s futile attempts to bring the war in Syria to an end. Putin has also challenged America’s global superiority, sending his planes U.S. warships in the Baltic and Black Seas, and

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