The crisis over Ukraine, and President Putin’s bid to
overturn the post–cold war international settlement
in Europe, has forced many Western governments
to reappraise their approach to Russia. Russia in
turn faces mounting internal difficulties. The Russian
challenge, therefore, is twofold: both to the West
and to Russia itself. The consequences of Moscow’s
current policy will be increasingly dangerous for
Europe and costly for Russia. The questions
addressed in this report are how far those costs will
rise, whether Russia can bear them, what will happen
if it cannot, and how the West should respond in the
near and longer term.
