ON MY MIND In the run-up to the 2011 State Duma elections, opposition leader Aleksei Navalny effectively branded the ruling United Russia as “the party of swindlers and thieves.” This week, police and prosecutors in Spain have shown that the label is probably even more appropriate than anybody suspected. Six Russian citizens have been detained […]
The literature on the GULAG is enormous, but that about another group of Stalin’s victims, the “special settlers,” is far smaller, even though several million people were deported.
The approval by the Duma of the so-called Yarova-Ozerov package of legislation will among other things drive many followers even of Russia’s “traditional” religions into the underground.
The reaction of many Russian opposition figures to the arrest of corrupt figures today ominously echoes the reaction of many ordinary Soviet citizens to the arrest and then execution of many corrupt officials in the late 1930s
LIVE UPDATES: Following the Brexit the ruble is up, and so are the spirits of some of the Kremlin’s biggest supporters. Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous issue is here. Recent Analysis and Translations: – […]
On its last day of work, the outgoing State Duma passed one of its most draconian pieces of legislation to date: a controversial antiterrorism bill that effectively turns Russia into a nation of suspected criminals. On this week’s Power Vertical Briefing, I discuss the bill with Pavel Butorin, managing editor of RFE/RL’s Russian-language television program Current […]
The Daily Vertical is a video primer for Russia-watchers that appears Monday through Friday. Viewers can suggest topics via Twitter @PowerVertical or on the Power Vertical Facebook page. A transcript of today’s Daily Vertical can be found here.
ON MY MIND It’s ironic that the Kremlin is celebrating the results of the Brexit referendum when no similar vote could ever take place in Russia. And even if one did, and if Russians voted — as the British just did — for something the elite opposed, the results would be falsified beyond recognition. So […]
Kiev reports military casualties while civilians have died on the other side of the front line.
