Russia is usually considered a strong state. Therefore, the international community has let it get away with military aggression in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea, with only limited sanctions.
But the Kremlin is actually quite vulnerable. Since he came to power in 2000, President Vladimir Putin has carried out a far-reaching deinstitutionalization, subordinating the whole state machinery, including the courts, to the Kremlin’s “vertical of power” and “dictatorship of law.”
