How to describe the character of Russian society during the Putin presidency brings forth strong opinions, including from Marxists. Karl Sanchez believes that one must distinguish ‘State Capitalism and the type of Socialism being employed by Russia and China. Currently all political-economies are hybrids – no nation is purely one or another. However, it is clear that some political-economic formats are detrimental to the majority and merit being radically reformed.

Karl Sanchez is based on the US West Coast. He had a long career as a culinary worker before turning to academia. His popular Substack blog – Karlof1’s Geopolitical Gymnasium – provides extensive information and analysis on Russian internal developments.