Extra-Systemic Opposition Unlikely to Be Able to Make Kadyrov an Issue, Poll Suggests 2016-02-24 16:17:17 Staunton, VA, February 20, 2016 – Some Moscow commentators have been expecting the extra-systemic opposition to make an issue of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and his outrageous behavior – a few have even suggested that might influence Vladimir Putin’s decision on the […]
Two of Four Parliamentary Parties Turn Down Call to Avoid Ethnic Themes, Barinov Says 2016-02-18 21:50:51 Staunton, VA, February 18, 2016 — United Russia and Just Russia have agreed to Igor Barinov’s call that they sign a formal agreement committing themselves to avoiding any nationalist or xenophobic statements or actions in the upcoming Duma elections, but […]
Ten Reasons Putin System May Not be as ‘Sustainable’ as Many Now Think 2016-02-17 22:42:32 Staunton, VA, February 17, 2016 — In an interview with Tomsk television, Mariya Snegovaya points to ten reasons why in her view the Putin system may not be nearly as “sustainable” as many now think given that the fall in […]
Upcoming Russian Duma Elections Becoming Ever More Meaningless – and Thus More Dangerous for the Kremlin 2016-02-16 21:30:19 Staunton, VA, February 16, 2016 — In addition to all the other “administrative resources” Moscow officials have to control the outcomes of elections, two developments this week suggest that the upcoming Duma vote, if in fact it is […]
Facebook and Twitter Now More Important News Sources for Yandex than TASS 2016-02-15 18:31:50 Facebook and Twitter “have become a main source of information for Yandex News,” the primary sources for about eight percent and five percent of all stories respectively, a new Yandex analysis shows; but traditional media still account for a total of […]
‘Third Rome to Meet First Rome to Oppose Second Rome,’ Kholmogorov Says 2016-02-13 00:33:56 Staunton, VA, February 6, 2016 — The meeting of Moscow Patriarch Kirill with Pope Francis in Cuba is not only a major boost for the status of the Russian Orthodox Church, suggesting as it does that Moscow somehow represents all Orthodox as […]
Kadyrov, Putin and the Desensitization of Russia 2016-02-09 06:37:59 Staunton, VA, February 1, 2016 – Each day seems to bring a fresh outrage from Ramzan Kadyrov, Vladimir Putin and their ilk, an outrage many dutifully denounce without connecting the dots and seeing the ways in which this drip-by-drip set of actions is making Russians and indeed many […]
A Baker’s Dozen of Neglected Russian Stories – No. 22 2016-02-05 18:07:21 Staunton, VA, February 5, 2016 – The flood of news stories from a country as large, diverse and strange as the Russian Federation often appears to be is far too large for anyone to keep up with. But there needs to be a way […]
Russia’s Demographic Decline Set to Resume with a Vengeance 2016-02-03 22:59:59 Staunton, VA, February 3, 2016 — Russia has had seven straight years of population growth, but the situation now suggests that the country is about to resume the demographic decline that had characterized the situation after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, according to an […]
Putin Modifies 1992 Yeltsin Decree Ending Russian German Hopes for Full Rehabilitation 2016-02-03 01:56:05 Staunton, VA, February 2, 2016 — Although in the case of occupied Crimea, Vladimir Putin has talked about the need for the full rehabilitation of the peoples of that peninsula who suffered under Soviet rule, the Kremlin leader on Sunday quietly […]
