Can Putin Mobilize Russia Again Without Destabilizing His Regime? — Professor Jeremy Morris on Russia’s Breaking Point

For years, Vladimir Putin has managed to insulate much of Russian society from the direct costs of the war in Ukraine. Now that this deal is breaking down, what happens if Russia conducts a major mobilization on top of it all? I spoke with Professor Jeremy Morris, an expert on Russian society and everyday politics, about the growing pressures beneath the apparent stability of Putin’s Russia. Drawing on his recent Jacobin article, Russia’s Authoritarian Neoliberalism Reaches Its Limits, Morris argues that Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy and economic infrastructure, growing war fatigue, labor shortages, and the increasing difficulty of recruiting soldiers through enormous financial incentives are beginning to erode the sense of normality that has helped sustain the war. Morris explains how economic pressure, inequality, and forced mobilization could interact to produce something much harder for the Kremlin to control. The discussion also goes deeper into the structure of Putin’s political system, including how ordinary Russians actually experience the war and where the limits of social endurance may ultimately lie. Further reading: - Russia’s Authoritarian Neoliberalism Reaches Its Limits — Read the Jacobin article here: https://jacobin.com/2026/08/russia-ukraine-war-neoliberalism-putin? Everyday Politics in Russia: From Resentment to Resistance — View the book at Bloomsbury: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/everyday-politics-in-russia-9781350509344/ About Professor Jeremy Morris Jeremy Morris is Professor of Global Studies at Aarhus University and a specialist in Russian society, political anthropology, and the lived experience of post-Soviet transformation. His latest book is Everyday Politics in Russia: From Resentment to Resistance (Bloomsbury, 2025). To connect and message with Mark on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mcnamee-58950910 To learn more, visit: https://ubn.network/ Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters: https://missionmatters.com/author/Mark-McNamee/ If you found this episode valuable, follow the podcast and share it with someone who wants to better understand the war in Ukraine.