What makes Vladimir Putin powerful? Alive with the voices and experiences of ordinary Russians and elites alike, Putin v the People tells the story of Putin’s power from the bottom-up. From the aftermath of the 2011-12 protests through the annexation of Crime, war in eastern Ukraine and a deep economic crisis, Sam Greene and Graeme Robertson draw on interviews, surveys, social media data and leaked documents to reveal just how hard the Kremlin has to work to maintain broad popular support. Unearthing the ambitions, emotions and divisions that fuel Russian politics, Putin v the People illuminates the crossroads at which Russia has arrived and shows why Putin’s rule may be more fragile than it appears.

In conversation with Catherine Belton, the FT's former Moscow correspondent.

Sam Greene in reader in Russian politics and director of the Russia Institute at King’s College London. Graeme Robertson is professor of political science and director of the Center for Slavic, Eurasian and East European Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

 Catherine Belton worked many years as a journalist in Moscow, closely covering the intersection between Russian money and power for the Moscow Times, BusinessWeek and most lately as the Financial Times' Moscow correspondent from 2007 to 2014. She's currently working on a book on Putin's Russia for HarperCollins and Farrar, Straus & Giroux.