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 […]
Just How Bad is Putin? Ever More People Are Counting the Ways 2016-01-31 21:46:41 Staunton, VA, January 31, 2016 – As the number of Vladimir Putin’s violations of international law and normal morality grows, ever more people are offering lists of the actions for which he must be held accountable. Three particularly interesting examples of that […]
Even If Oil Prices Rise and Sanctions End, Russia’s Economy Will Be in Trouble, Inozemtsev Says 2016-01-31 03:11:29 Staunton, VA, January 30, 2016 — The Putin regime “has made so many mistakes that even if oil prices rise and sanctions are lifted, the crisis will not end, according to Vladislav Inozemtsev. Instead, the director of the […]
A Baker’s Dozen of Neglected Russian Stories – No. 21 2016-01-29 20:52:51 Staunton, VA, January 29, 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 […]
Moscow Patriarchate Losing Parishes to Kyiv Church and Its Dominance of Ukraine’s Religious Life 2016-01-28 14:49:04 Staunton, VA, January 28, 2016 — The Moscow Patriachate may have succeeded in intimidating the Universal Patriarch of Constantinople not to grant autocephaly to its rival in Ukraine, the Kyiv Patriarchate; but as a result of the war and the […]
Grozny Meeting was Chechnya’s Maidan and Thus a Threat to Putin, Gorny Says 2016-01-27 03:55:31 Staunton, VA, January 25, 2016 — Few have been willing to recognize that the mass meeting in Grozny on Friday all of its pro-Putin verbiage notwithstanding was nothing other than “a Chechen Maidan,” an event that represents an even greater challenge […]
Ever More Russians are at Risk of Repression as Putin’s Russia Heads Toward Totalitarianism 2016-01-27 01:38:31 Staunton, V, January 26, 2016 — There is an old observation that in a democracy, anything that isn’t prohibited is permitted; in an authoritarian system, anything that isn’t permitted is prohibited; and in a totalitarian one, anything that is permitted […]
Psychologists Tell Russians Complaining of ‘Problems with Russia’ to Avoid Reading Pessimistic Commentaries 2016-01-24 15:46:11 Staunton, VA, January 24, 2016 — Faced with a deteriorating situation in Russia and feeling that there is nothing they can do as individuals to change it, ever more Russians are suffering from depression and other psychological complaints and asking doctors […]
The Water is Getting Warmer for the Frog 2016-01-24 15:05:17 Staunton, VA, January 23, 2016 – Many are expecting that the conclusion of the British judicial investigation into the murder of Aleksandr Litvinenko that Vladimir Putin was behind that crime will lead to a sea change in the reaction of the West to Putin and his regime. […]
One Russian in Four Afraid to Tell Pollsters the Truth – and One in Two Say Most Russians Don’t 2016-01-23 12:59:34 Staunton, VA, January 22, 2016 — Roughly a quarter of all Russians — 26 percent — are afraid to express their personal opinions to sociologists about current Russian events; and slightly under half — 49 […]
