Putin’s Fear of a Humiliating Economic Crisis

Greater sanctions pressure could finally bring Moscow to the negotiating table.

Long line of cars at Russian gas station September 4, 2025, 11:36 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict three years on.

More on this topic

No one knows what Russian President Vladimir Putin was hoping to achieve when he embarked on a nine-hour flight from Moscow to Alaska to meet U.S. President Donald Trump last month. But it’s a safe bet that he was looking to avoid the additional sanctions on the Russian economy that Trump had vaguely threatened a number of times—and perhaps get relief from existing sanctions or even some lucrative U.S. investment deals.

Putin has every reason to seek a lifeline for t

See Full Page