Maybe Russia’s Economy Doesn’t Need Democracy

... common European market. In his first two terms as president, Vladimir Putin very much shared this vision: He was very keen to consider a Europe from Lisbon to Vladivostok. But the West was not welcoming. It wasn’t ready. I’m not saying that the European Union shouldn’t have expanded into Eastern Europe, but it was quite clear at the time that the expansion would hurt relations because of all the historical problems between Russia and its Eastern European neighbors. Don’t get me wrong: I ...