Is Vladimir Putin’s regime cracking?

  • Tue, September 29, 2026 • 9:00 am ET
  • virtual event

The Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center explores growing domestic challenges facing Russia’s ruling regime.

On Tuesday, September 29, at 9:00 am ET, the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center will host a discussion on mounting signs of domestic pressure on the Kremlin.

“They will hang me,” Putin reportedly said to a group of close confidants, expressing his fear of public backlash to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Increasingly, the Russian president’s facade of strength appears to be cracking: from the firing of the country’s top economist following a critical speech on the wartime economy, to Putin’s diminished appearance alongside Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, to growing pushback from Russian pro-war bloggers against official Kremlin claims of battlefield gains.

This conversation will examine how much control Putin truly has over the narrative, the war, and the country he leads.

Speakers

Anton Barbashin
Co-founder & Editorial Director,
Riddle Russia

Konstantin von Eggert
Russian Affairs Analyst and Program Host, Russian Service,
Deutsche Welle

Shelby Magid
Deputy Director, Eurasia Center,
Atlantic Council

Vladimir Milov
Vice President, International Advocacy,
Free Russia Foundation;
Former Deputy Minister of Energy of Russia

Moderated by

Amb. John Herbst
Senior Director, Eurasia Center,
Atlantic Council

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The Eurasia Center’s mission is to promote policies that strengthen stability, democratic values, and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe in the West to the Caucasus, Russia, and Central Asia in the East.

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