Russia’s Canaries Are Singing

Strong men like Putin can seem admirable, but the societal costs are terrible, as citizens have no say in government, and the dictator can quickly destroy their country.

Allan J. Feifer | September 2, 2026

American conservatives who admire Putin or excuse Russia’s conduct should remember that the authoritarian “strength” they admire depends on suppressing dissent, while America’s constitutional disorderliness is inseparable from the freedom to challenge the government without fear of state punishment.

Americans take for granted a “free” press and other First Amendment rights; Russia, not so much! An August 17th article by Efrat Lachter, a Fox News correspondent, immediately had me visualizing Arte Johnson as the infamous German soldier “Wolfgang.” The line: “Verrry Interesting.”

The article, titled “Russian state economist fired after publicly releasing a stark warning about Moscow’s economic future,” is remarkable, not just because of what the now-former Russian chief economist said, but for what it says about Putin’s ability to control the narrative that Russia will soon be able to declare victory in Ukraine and prosperity will return to the motherland. If only it were that easy.

Andrei Klepach, then chief economist of Russia’s state development bank VEB.RF, publicly warned that Russia was losing the economic and technological competition with the West and, in some respects, even with Ukraine. He said Russia would not win the economic “war of attrition.”

Russia is paying a higher price than even its staggering battlefield losses. The war has accelerated structural weaknesses that were already eroding the country’s competitiveness: chronic underinvestment, technological isolation, and a shrinking labor force. Klepach himself warned that Russia faces a “social crisis” driven by stagnating productivity and widening inequality.

The post-invasion exodus of young, educated workers has only intensified these pressures, leaving Russia with fewer engineers,........

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