The meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Moscow helped both give the impression of a united front, but underlying tensions were also discernible.

Since its emergence as an independent state in 1991, Ukraine has made little progress in consolidating democratic rule. A powerful oligarchy has dominated the country’s politics and economy. Corrupti…

When the new Russia emerged from the wreckage of the Soviet Union in 1991, it was widely expected to embark on a democratic transition. In the then dominant Western narrative, it had no alternative i…