Uneven modernisation has left its mark on Russia, and the authorities are only too happy to exploit it. What does the future hold for Russia’s regional divide? Русский
The dividing line between market liberals and supporters of active state intervention in the Russian economy has considerably shifted.
Celebrated Russian activist Valery Abramkin has died aged 66. Here we republish extracts from a lecture delivered in 2006, which contains many fascinating insights into the rules of behaviour, hierarchies and relationships within Soviet and Russian prisons. (With a foreword by MaryMcAuley.)
The judgment in the Berezovsky vs Abramovich case was a long time coming. Berezovsky lost comprehensively, but Abramovich would do well to consider carefully whether his victory was actually worth winning, says Vladimir Pastukhov
On 10th July a Moscow court extended the pre-trial detention of three members of feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot, charged with hooliganism after they performed a ‘blasphemous’ and anti-Putin song in the city’s main cathedral in February. Vladimir Pastukhov believes there is much the case tells
Russia’s 9 time zones are often exploited by TV management to pull controversial programmes, but the internet has changed the rules of the game. A recent film about kidnap victims in Chechnya was shown in the Far East, but not in European Russia. The ensuing outcry and internet activity show that
Twenty years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Communist Party is enjoying a mini-revival as a channel for popular discontent with the government. But its leadership is too rooted in the past and concerned with retaining control of the party to exploit this advantage, says Vladimir G
In 2010, the Russian military experienced acute delays with procurement. The official response to the affair was outlined last month: three officers were to be sacked and several company directors punished. Basic research shows the government's position to be nothing more than a smoke screen, writ
Post-Soviet Georgia is no stranger to drama or revolution, and after a short interregnum, the country once again finds itself in a febrile mood. Sergei Markedonov analyses the background to the present unrest.
Russian intellectual Igor Kon has died aged 82. Here we present one of his final essays, first published on our partner website, www.polit.ru. Reflecting on the woes of Russian history, Kon displays trademark wit and moral argument.
When a spokesman from Russia's migration service spoke about the purity of the white Russian race, he was summarily dismissed. But while his quasi-Nazi whistle chimes ill with official rhetoric of multiculturalism, it is alas in tune with much of Russian society, says Mikhail Zakharov.
Independently-minded specialists carrying out research into the seamier side of Russian right-wing nationalist extremism are few and far between. The death of Galina Kozhevnikova at a young age is thus a veritable tragedy, laments Andreas Umland.
