Dictatorships, especially the one man variety like Russia’s are unpredictable, but they do operate on logical underlying principles. They often come to power with popular support and a mandate to solve a crisis. Once a firm grip on power is achieved, the junta or supreme leader blames his predecessors for any problems, and he cracks down on rights. With democracy dead and civil society hunted to extinction, the only was left to make legitimate claim on power is confrontation and conflict. Propaganda is ratcheted up against mythical fifth columnists and usual scapegoats, like immigrants and minorities. The next and usual final phase arrives when other tricks have become stale. Domestic enemies are never threatening enough- and eventually there i no one left to persecute, as in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin – so the dictator looks abroad, inevitably finding a “national interest: to defend across a conventional border. Gary Kasparov