What Explains the Loyalty of Russia's Technocrats?

Abstract

Russia's ability to navigate punishing international sanctions and wage its war in Ukraine has in large part centered around a group of highly skilled technocrats directing policy responses and helping construct its wartime economy. This analysis previews one argument from a forthcoming book about technocrats serving authoritarian regimes: that technocrats have remained loyal to the Putin regime not just because of the perceived costs of exit, but also because they calculate their careers, in both the short and long run, are benefited by preserving the status quo.