Vladimir Putin has brought a new project to Russia: rebuilding the state. Both the victorious elites of the 1990s and their victims now share a common interest in this. The new elite, having survived the upheavals and crises of President Boris Yeltsin’s later years, wants to consolidate its position. It needs an effective state to protect its newly-won property rights and provide an environment in which it can develop the assets it has acquired. Most ordinary Russians simply need a state capable of providing basic public goods such as law enforcement, paying budget-sector wages and pensions, and encouraging economic growth.
Russia: Let's Build a State
President Vladimir Putin’s engagement with the west continues this month when he stays at Buckingham Palace as part of a state visit. State building is a preoccupation for Britain and America, especially in Iraq. It’s something that has been at the heart of Putin’s success.
