This book peers into the near future, when Russia is no longer ruled by Vladimir Putin. Already today—despite deep-seated fear—Putin’s entourage is quietly laying the groundwork for the inevitable power transition. Post-Putin Russia will remain haunted by the myths Putin cultivated and the political system he built—one determined to endure under new leadership. Understanding the inner workings of this regime, its strengths, and especially its vulnerabilities is therefore essential. The book offers a clear-eyed deconstruction of the Putin cult and the assumptions widely accepted as fact among observers. In any highly personalistic autocracy, the leader himself is the system's greatest liability. Yet paradoxically, the dead autocrat may become one of the most powerful tools for the survival of the post-Putin elite.



This book peers into Russia's near future and offers a clear-eyed deconstruction of the Putin cult and the assumptions widely accepted as fact among observers.



This book is a successful attempt to understand the layers of Putin’s Russia. The authors unravel the intricacies of Russian state management, describing its closed and even secret mechanisms. In short, this is a fearless investigation—with elements of ‘dissection’—of the mechanisms of Russian governance. —Yevhen Magda, Director of the Center for Public Relations, Kyiv



Vadym Denysenko, Dr. sc., studied Ukrainian language, literature, and history at Kyiv’s Shevchenko University, Mohyla Academy, and National Academy of Sciences. He has been, among others, a people’s deputy in Ukraine’s parliament, editor-in-chief of the weekly Comments.ua and television channel Espreso TV, as well as executive director of the Ukrainian Institute for the Future. Among Denysenko’s previous books are Politicians Do Not Lie (in Ukrainian, 2020), The Organization and Functioning of Viktor Yanukovych’s Personal Regime, 2010–2014 (in Ukrainian, 2020), How to Destroy the Russian World (in Ukrainian, 2023), and Putin vs the World: Why Russia Has Not Changed in the Past 400 Years (2023).