(MOSCOW AND SAINT PETERSBURG) – The carefully constructed myth of Russian security is crumbling, as persistent Ukrainian drone strikes demonstrate the increasing vulnerability of the nation’s two most important cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Once thought to be insulated from the conflict, these metropolitan centres are now experiencing the tangible consequences of a war the Kremlin long insisted was a distant “special military operation.” For decades, the Russian political system, from the Soviet era through to the current regime, concentrated power, wealth, and attention almost exclusively on Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Citizens in the vast peripheral regions were often dismissed…
