Putin faces rising tensions as Russian economy weakens (opens in new tab)

The Russian economy is losing momentum as the cost of the war mounts — sowing discord at the highest levels of the state and posing growing problems for President Vladimir Putin. After four years of proudly insisting that Russia could withstand sanctions imposed by the West in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin is now confronting the reality that the war economy that initially spurred growth is increasingly straining the system. Meanwhile, there is a growing sense that