By and large, there is a consensus among scholars to classify the Russian regime since about 2000 as non-democratic. However, the degree of authoritarianism remains disputed. Some authors see a clear-cut regression into practices typical of the Soviet period, other speak of only moderate degrees of repression. In much of the literature, these differ-ences have been justified by reference to competing models of authoritarianism. In this paper it is argued that our understanding of the character of autocratic rule in Russia remains limited if we employ a dichotomist model of autocracy and/or democracy. Instead, we have to realize that the Russian regime – while autocratic – is ruled through responsive practices that can be found in democracies as well.
