Europe

Russia

Political journey

The center of the Russian Empire and then of the Soviet Union, whose collapse in 1991 left Russia with a turbulent transition to a market economy. Vladimir Putin has led it since 2000, centralizing power and restoring state control over the economy. He annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russia today

Its current leader’s position on the ten Caucus dimensions.

💰EconomyLeaning state-led
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureStrongly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationStrongly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentStrongly growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologySlightly tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsSlightly anti-establishment
Anti-establishmentInstitutional
🙏ReligionLeaning religious
SecularReligious
🛡️InterventionismStrongly interventionist
Non-interventionistInterventionist

Who leads Russia today

Portrait of Vladimir Putin

Vladimir Putin

President of Russia, 2000 to present (with a term as prime minister)

Subject of an ICC arrest warrant, and launched the 2022 invasion of Ukraine

Centralized power over more than two decades, annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Vladimir Putin sits in the left-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: leaning state-led and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority, strongly nationalist on nation and strongly strength-first on war and peace.

Full profile of Vladimir Putin →

Political views closest to Russia’s leadership

FascismAn ultranationalist one-party dictatorship built on a leader cult, militarism and the…99%MilitarismTreats military strength and martial values as central to national life.97%FalangismA Spanish fascist-inspired movement stressing nation, Catholicism and corporatist unity.95%BonapartismAuthoritarian rule by a popular leader who claims to embody the nation, with plebiscites…93%

Other people from Russia

Alexander Solzhenitsyn Russian writer and dissident, 1918 to 2008Alexei Navalny Russian opposition leader, 1976 to 2024Boris Yeltsin President of Russia, 1991 to 1999Catherine the Great Empress of Russia, 1762 to 1796Leo Tolstoy Russian novelist and moral thinker, 1828 to 1910Mikhail Bakunin Russian revolutionary and anarchist, 1814 to 1876Peter Kropotkin Russian anarchist and naturalist, 1842 to 1921Peter the Great Tsar of Russia, 1682 to 1725

Countries with similar leadership

Ranked by how close their current leaders are on the ten dimensions.

TurkeyAfrica & Middle East97%AzerbaijanAsia & Oceania95%BelarusEurope93%EgyptAfrica & Middle East93%

Country histories are short summaries. Positions are simplified estimates of the leaders included in Caucus as of October 2026, and percentages show how close two profiles are across all ten dimensions.