Nina L. Khrushcheva: What’s on Putin’s Mind?

with Nouriel Roubini, Katharina Pistor, Yanis Varoufakis, and more The Sunday Newsletter [View this message in a web browser]( [PS on Sunday]( FEBRUARY 27, 2022 This week at [Project Syndicate]( Jason Furman offers some perspective on the immediate economic impacts of Russia’s assault on Ukraine; Maciej Kisilowski and Anna Wojciuk warn that the risks of democratic backsliding in Poland and Hungary have now become existential; Nina L. Khrushcheva thinks Vladimir Putin has succumbed to his ego-driven obsession with restoring Russia’s sphere of influence; and more. Economics & Finance [The Economic Consequences of the Ukraine War]( [Jason Furman]( cautions against reading too much into the initial market reaction to Russia’s invasion. Politics & World Affairs [Ukraine’s Lessons for NATO’s Eastern Flank]( [Maciej Kisilowski]( and [Anna Wojciuk]( worry that Hungary and Poland are on a similar trajectory of internal division and external vulnerability. [Russia's War and the Global Economy]( On Point [Russia's War and the Global Economy]( [Nouriel Roubini]( warns that the invasion of Ukraine will have steep stagflationary effects, even in otherwise strong economies. Politics & World Affairs [What’s on Putin’s Mind?]( [Nina L. Khrushcheva]( suggests that the Russian president's decision to invade Ukraine will turn out to be utterly self-defeating. Politics & World Affairs [Russia’s Stolen Future]( [Joschka Fischer]( considers the real reason behind the Russian leader's decision to invade Ukraine. [Subscribe to PS today for the latest on politics and more.]( Economics & Finance [The Case for a Punitive Tax on Russian Oil]( [Ricardo Hausmann]( explains why a high levy would both weaken Russia and benefit consuming countries. Politics & World Affairs [The EU Court Punts on the Rule of Law]( [Katharina Pistor]( worries that the recent ruling against Poland and Hungary sets the stage for more legal hair-splitting. [Putin’s Imperial Delirium]( On Point [Putin’s Imperial Delirium]( [Carl Bildt]( argues that Russia’s president wants nothing less than an end to Ukraine as an independent state. Economics & Finance [The Upside of US Inflation]( [Edward N. Wolff]( presents new research showing how higher prices help to mitigate wealth inequality. Economics & Finance [Our New Cloud-Based Ruling Class]( [Yanis Varoufakis]( describes how owners of AI-powered "command capital" have turned even traditional capitalists into vassals. [Putin and the Apocalypse]( From the Archive [Putin and the Apocalypse]( In 2019, [Dina Khapaeva]( asked what lay behind the Russian president’s increasingly frequent talk of nuclear Armageddon. Economics & Finance [China’s Two Traps]( [Keun Lee]( identifies the barriers the country must overcome during the next phase of its development. Politics & World Affairs [America Is Fueling Chinese Techno-Nationalism]( [Keyu Jin]( thinks the Biden administration should be careful what it wishes for as it adds to the US Entity List. [The Russia-Ukraine Crisis]( PS Topics [The Russia-Ukraine Crisis]( All the latest commentary on the crisis, including its political, strategic, and economic implications. [PS. Sign up for our Say More/Read More newsletter, the only place to get contributor book recommendations every other week.]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. This newsletter is a service of [project-syndicate.org](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from this list](