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Brian Whitmore: Tinker, tailor, hitman, spy

Editor’s Note: “The Power Vertical” is a CEPA podcast covering the Kremlin for Kremlin watchers. All opinions are those of the presenter and do not necessarily represent the position or views of the institutions they represent or the Center for European Policy Analysis.

Is he a diplomat? Or is he a hit man? Is it an intelligence service? Or is it a crime syndicate? Is it a state? Or is it a mafia? I ask these questions because something caught my attention this week that highlights the nature of Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin regime and undermines the logic of those calling for rapprochement with Moscow.