Where Do Dictatorships Drift? Russian Autocracy and the Invasion of Ukraine

This book traces the historical evolution of Russian autocracy, arguing that its full-scale invasion of Ukraine was the logical outcome of a long-term political trajectory.
In seeking to explain why Russia attacked Ukraine, Konstantin Gaaze rejects two familiar explanations from the outset: the notion of an immutable historical destiny and the idea that everything can be reduced to the personality of a single ruler. Instead, he presents the findings of an eleven-year historical and sociological investigation that began in March 2014.
Drawing on previously unavailable internal documents from the Kremlin and the Russian government, contemporary social theory, and classic historical scholarship, Gaaze examines what led Russia's once Western-oriented elite to confront the "collective West," how the state systematically reshaped Russian society to serve the goals of war, and why so many members of the country's intellectual elite—despite being deeply integrated into the structures of power—failed to prevent the conflict.
Konstantin Gaaze is a sociologist, a recipient of the 2017 Profession: Journalist Award in the Opinion Writing category, and a former Russian government official.

Konstantin Gaaze. Where Do Dictatorships Drift? Russian Autocracy and the Invasion of Ukraine. — Riga: Meduza, 2025.
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