Riding the Tiger

Leon Aron chronicles the transformation of Russian politics and society under Putin. Through hundreds of Russian-language sources, Aron shows how Putin uses militarist propaganda and sanitized revisionist images of World War II, Stalin, and the Soviet Union to forge a nationalist and loyal core of his regime's support. Dr. Aron's analysis of Russian political culture helps us better understand Russia's revanchist tendencies, its invasion of Ukraine, and the perilous road ahead. Aron argues that Putin's actions are driven by the Russian president's need to ensure his regime's survival, avenge the fall of the Soviet Union, combat the "America-led West," and make Russia a superpower again. Putin is now stuck in a vast and savage war that he can neither win nor walk away from. He hopes America and its allies undergo "Ukraine fatigue," but what if he decides he cannot outwait the West?