In his third term, 2012-2018, Russian President Putin put a marked emphasis on ideas, symbols and values. But the Kremlin’s ideology, which might look rigid, is in fact improvisational, blurry and full of contradictions. Lenin’s statues are left untouched, while new monuments commemorate tsars and princes. Putin inaugurated a new Memorial to Stalin’s Victims, but busts of Stalin have appeared in many Russian cities. This lecture will argue that while such ideological flexibility may help stability and acquiescence, underneath a seeming concord of loyalists, the Kremlin is riddled with ideological—and potentially, political—divisions.

Maria (Masha) Lipman is a Russian political analyst and media specialist. She is editor of the Russian journal, Counterpoint, published by George Washington University and is currently a visiting Distinguished Fellow of Russian Studies at Indiana University (Bloomington)