This month Mary Page catches up with Konstantin Sonin, John Dewey Distinguished Service Professor at the Harris School at the University of Chicago. Konstantin Sonin, a Russia-born economist has been a full professor in the Harris School at the University of Chicago since 2015. He has written in leading political science and economics journals, published Lessons on Economics, a book on economics for a wide audience, contributed to major international and Russian media outlets, and frequently comments on social media. In 2023, Dr. Sonin was placed on the Federal Wanted list in Russia – a criminal case based on commentary he published in 2022 about the Bucha Massacre and the Siege of Mariupol. In the spring and summer of 2025 he spent several months teaching economics in Kyiv.
The interview was recorded on 6 November 2025
Mary’s Questions:
1 I’d like to start by asking you about your recent time in Kyiv. What was your teaching role there? And what impressions did you bring back with you to Chicago after your time in Ukraine?
2 In 2011 you published your Russian-language book, Lessons on Economics. Have there been developments since 2011 that you would include in your book if writing it today? Could you give one or two examples?
3 There has been a great deal of discussion about whether sanctions against Russia are working. Three years ago in November 2022 you wrote in Foreign Affairs that ‘The long-term costs of the Ukraine war will be staggering for Russia’s economy’. To what extent has that prediction been born out? How do you see the long-term effects of the Ukraine invasion today?
4 It seems that, despite occasional soundbites to the opposite, President Trump has basically withdrawn support from Ukraine. Is this an accurate picture in your view? How much support is Ukraine getting from the US now?
5 Russia under President Putin very much seems to be moving into China’s sphere of influence. Do you see this as a temporary development, or is it a sign of a long-term realignment in the global economy that signals a decline of the West?
6 When we look back at the 1990s and what many call the ‘shock therapy’ of those years that was supported by the West, do you think that this eased the way for an authoritarian leader such as Putin. Could a different model of economic reform have reduced the risk of authoritarian rule?
7 I recall that in one public debate the economist Sergei Guriev pinpointed the ‘loans for shares’ deal of the Yeltsin years as one moment in particular where Russian reforms took the ‘wrong turn.’ Others, such as the writer Boris Akunin, have emphasised the first Chechen war. What is your view of that discussion?
8 In general, when we think of Russia as a test case, is there a connection, as many have thought, between market economics and improved human rights, or is that all something of a misunderstanding?
9 Which brings me to my final question about current developments in the US. Soon after taking power in 2000 we know President Putin began to impose limits on the media and to ensure ‘friendly oligarchs’ held key roles in the economy. To what extent do you see similarities between what happened in Russia after 2000 and current developments in US politics? And what does that tell us about the relationship between politics and economics? And about the threats to human rights in modern societies?
