Where does Russia’s geopolitical future lie? Asia and the Global South offer growing markets, and Putin’s war with Ukraine has seen him embrace China as an ally. But Putin is increasingly reliant on what Mark Galeotti calls the “minigarchs”: ambitious officials in the second echelon of power in Russia, who are the ones who actually execute Putin’s policies. And the minigarchs – the first truly post-Soviet political generation in Russia – haven’t yet bought into Putin’s worldview. They worry that Russia risks becoming China’s vassal, and see an opportunity for Russia to attempt to recover friendly relations with Europe, while the US vacates the continent in its pivot to Asia. In this interview with the IAI, Galeotti suggests that Russia’s future depends on the outcome of this struggle within the minigarchy. Alasdair Craig: In your book, Downfall, about the rise and fall of Yevgeny Prigozhin, you use the term “minigarch” to desc…
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