Is cynicism the glue that keeps Russia's regime from falling apart? Alexei Levinson introduces a new series on openDemocracy Russia.
Kremlin control of the Russian media may not be absolute, though it comes pretty close, and the few independent media have to watch their backs constantly. Aleksey Levinson, Mikhail Sokolov and Zygmunt Dzieciolowski discuss the specifics of the situation in the context of the ever more authoritari
On the 60th anniversary of Joseph Stalin’s death, with Russian and international TV news bulletins showing old footage of his life and his funeral, Alexei Levinson looks at how his legacy still divides Russians today.
It is easy to write off the events of the last few months as a predictable prelude to bureaucratic revanchism. But the unanticipated protest movement also brought about a significant change, writes Alexei Levinson. This was the sense that Russians can now become members of an internalised free soc
A majority of Russians – and not all of them opponents of Putin – demand modernisation. Yet the predominance of the bureaucratic classes and importance of informal favours in Putin’s Russia makes that a near impossible task. Paradoxically, the only way out for Putin may be to absorb his bureaucrat
The presidential election is still 6 months away, but speculation about who would stand i.e become president had reached fever pitch. A section of society really hoped that Medvedev would continue his liberal policies, even though signs that this could happen were few and far between. Now there is
During the perestroika years there was much talk in Russia of the need for an act of repentance to assist people to come to terms with the Stalinist purges of 1936-7 and the ensuing years. There was no such act and a recent poll has revealed shifting perceptions of that period. But the victims are
On the eve of Presidential elections, Dmitry Medvedev has sprung to life and inserted political distance between himself and Putin. Polls show Russians would like both leaders to stand for election, and to choose between them, but such a democratic development would be highly unusual for Russia, w
As in the whole world, democracy has emerged victorious in Russia.
Author: Alexei Levinson
In the course of twelve months, Russians will go to the polls twice – first, the parliamentary elections and then the big one: the presidential. Comparisons between Medvedev at this stage of his presidency and his predecessors are interesting, explains Alexei Levinson. Yet the Putin-Medvedev situa
Many Russians experienced the collapse of the Soviet Union as defeat in a third world war and held Gorbachev responsible. However, a recent Levada Center survey shows attitudes are changing. 43% now see the end of the Cold War as a victory, Alexei Levinson reports. And whatever the regime thinks,
Rather than emphasising friends and allies, today's Russian leaders prefer to single out their enemies, writes Alexei Levinson. It is an approach that plays on Russians' traditional psychological comfort zones, while at the same time allowing politicians to evade responsibility at home.
