This event was the first in our series The Age of the Strongman, with Gideon Rachman. In this brand new event series from Intelligence Squared, Rachman will speak to leading experts about the political leaders defining our times. Click here for more information about the remaining events in the series: https://www.intelligencesquared.com/t....

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War in Ukraine. Interference in democratic elections. The sponsorship of extremist politics to destabilise Europe. In recent years, Vladimir Putin has waged a relentless campaign to expand his influence beyond Russia’s borders and to undermine Western democracy. But how did he come to have such control over Russia – and what is it that he really wants?

In March 2025 Catherine Belton, acclaimed journalist and author of the bestselling book 'Putin’s People: How the KGB Took Back Russia and Then Took on the West' joined us via live video link from Kyiv for this installment of our series, The Age of the Strongman. Drawing on years of investigative reporting, Belton revealed how Putin’s rise was orchestrated by a network of former KGB officers and oligarchs who used economic power, fear and corruption to install him in the Kremlin. She explored how this model of governance and ‘strongman leadership’ has been exported globally and what the consequences continue to be for us all. She was joined live on stage by Arkady Ostrovsky, an award-winning author and journalist who leads The Economist’s coverage of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The event was chaired by Gideon Rachman, Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator for the Financial Times.