The uncompromising sentences passed down today to Aleksey Navalny and co-defendant Petr Ofitserov demonstrate that the Putin regime has crossed over to the twilight phase. The only thing it can offer Russia now is fear, and that is not much of a programme, says Kirill Rogov
With Aleksei Navalny on trial and other opposition leaders under threat, Vladimir Putin is relying more on the stick than the carrot to shore up his regime. Kirill Rogov points out the risks of this policy.
As Russia’s politicians go off for their summer break, political commentator Kirill Rogov takes a look at the latest opinion polls. His conclusion? Putin’s hardline policy towards the opposition is turning out to be counterproductive.
Putin’s announcement that he and Medvedev had decided long ago who would be president in 2012 has caused a furore in Russia and abroad. It will be disastrous for Russia and Putin will almost certainly find he has made a rod for his own back, says Kirill Rogov
In a country lacking proper democratic process, linking Monday’s bomb attacks to forthcoming elections is trite. A more likely explanation is the lack of accountability that results from the very absence of elections, writes Kirill Rogov.
In some card games, the aim is to collect as many cards as possible; in others it is to get rid of cards that have been dealt. There are regimes where the point of the rules is that they should be observed and others where simply they are there to be broken. This is Russia, explains Kirill Rogov
