by Peter Zeihan on March 13, 2025

This is the next episode in our new Russian Reach series on Patreon. We currently have 8 episodes released and more on the way! If you want to see all the videos without waiting a full week, join Patreon now!

In case early access to the series isn’t enough for you, if you sign up for Patreon before the end of March, we’ll donate the first 3 months of your membership fees to MedShare.

LINK FOR THE PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/peterzeihan

You can find more info about MedShare at the button below.

Despite the short-term emphasis placed on the title of president, chancellor, or prime minister, the reality is that leadership typically has minimal impact on the trajectory of a nation. The real movers are geography and demography; however, sometimes a leader can be the exception to that rule.

If you take the US, it’s clear that geographic security enabled a flexible and powerful military. If you look at German history, constant neighboring threats lead them down a different path. Demographic structures carry influence in all spheres of life. Younger demos can drive consumption and inflation, while an older, wealthier demo fuels investment and stability. Again, geography and demography are structural realities that are often “untouchable” by a singular leader.

And yet, there are pivotal moments when a leader (or single decision for that matter) can change the course of history. We’re talking about instances like Churchill’s stance during WWII or Zelensky’s defiance in the opening week of the Ukraine War. And now, Trump is pulling the US from its post-Cold War holding pattern and plunging it into a deglobalized system.

Trump’s leadership, coupled with his ability to appoint unqualified officials with little opposition, is a symptom of the disintegration of both major US political parties. Which means we’re entering a period where outside forces, like Russia, can weasel their way into American politics.

Please click below to watch today’s video

YouTube Video Link: https://youtu.be/IY_ToG_Dr0k

We appreciate the interest and engagement from our followers, but with Peter’s travel schedule and sheer volume of requests, we are unable to answer non-business-related questions via e-mail. Use the ‘Ask Peter’ page below for your video topics, ideas and burning questions…

follow me on socials

To make sure you get our emails, please add our email address to your saved contacts or Whitelist.