Specialist Marie Mendras analyzes the drift of Vladimir Putin’s regime during a conference at the University of Shared Knowledge on March 31, at 6:30 pm, at the Vox Azur cinema in Villefranche.
The University of Shared Knowledge welcomes Marie Mendras, professor at Sciences Po Paris and specialist in contemporary Russian history, on March 31 at 6:30 pm. This meeting will take place at the Vox cinema in Villefranche-de-Rouergue on the theme “The crisis of the Putin dictatorship.” The expert will detail the mechanisms of the current regime and the dangers it poses to international balance.
Since coming to power in 1999, Vladimir Putin has established a “democrature,” defined as a dictatorship with superficial democratic appearances. This system relies on a repressive apparatus that silences opposition and the press, while favoring an oligarchy that has seized control of underground wealth. This internal organization allows the Kremlin chief to maintain absolute control over Russian society. These mechanisms will be explained by the specialist. On the international stage, Russia is trying to reconstitute the political space of the former USSR through a series of aggressive wars. Interventions have followed each other in Georgia in 2008, in Crimea in 2015, and in the Donbass in 2022. These military actions aim to reclaim territories considered by the Russian government as historical strongholds.
Despite growing tensions with NATO and the European Union, Western powers have developed a strong dependence on Russian fossil fuels. Marie Mendras will also address current geopolitical issues, including the return of Donald Trump to the White House and the impacts of the conflict in the Middle East. The conference will conclude with a Q&A session with the audience.
