Price of Russian paranoia

Foreign Affairs: Yet rule by spy hunting and paranoia has also come with significant costs. As state institutions and private enterprises alike fear FSB repression, they have begun to withhold accurate data, avoid making decisions, and, in general, switch to survival mode. Among ordinary Russians and civil servants alike, proliferating social controls and prosecutions for treason have created a pervasive climate of mistrust and fueled a sense of paralysis. For the Kremlin, building an all-powerful security state could ultimately undermine its ability to govern…