This week the Russian Supreme Court declared that the prison sentence given to Pussy Riot members was unlawful. The announcement came one day after Russian state news outlets carried a “leaked” report that the punk rockers were named in a draft amnesty bill. This led to many to think that Pussy Riot might have several […]
This summer, the biggest story in Russia was that, for the first time in recent memory, a serious opposition candidate, Alexei Navalny, could win an important election. Navalny was running for Moscow’s mayor against President Putin’s favored candidate, Sergei Sobyanin. Despite being arrested, tried and convicted for fraud, and then released, Navalny still received a […]
Georgia is considering getting rid of its Soviet and Russian weapons, primarily its T-55 and T‑72 tanks, and its Mi-8 helicopters. According to the Ministry of Defense there are “several dozen” of such machines. In the current conditions it doesn’t seem feasible to have them repaired in Russia or to get spare parts from Russia. […]
Yesterday, Russian state-owned media outlets carried a “leaked” report that the imprisoned Pussy Riot members were included in the draft amnesty bill. Today, it has been announced that the Supreme Court has thrown out their sentences anyway. As their prison terms are set to expire early next year, this is being interpreted by many as […]
RIA Novosti is, or perhaps “was,” a state-owned news source that was still regarded as fairly balanced and objective. Its articles, in English and Russian, were typically lacking the kind of pro-Kremlin spin often found in, say, Izvestia. Though some editorials were perhaps more clearly in this line (like the sensational article about the Washington […]
One of the many scandals related to the construction of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the environmental impact of the project has been flagged by many experts. But it’s not just the environment that is in danger. Heavy rains and high risks of landslides have already washed away construction sites, and there are fears […]
It’s very unlikely that Ukraine will immediately become a European country as a result of the second “orange revolution” in its short post-Soviet history. But these events may have a significant impact on the situation in Russia. The Russian authorities’ passion for geopolitical games without thinking about the consequences has led to a situation where […]
Maria (Masha) Alyokhina, a member of the punk rock group Pussy Riot, has written a letter from prison, describing the harsh conditions there. Alyokhina is due to be released soon, so the letter can be seen as more a witness for those prisoners who are still incarcerated. However, after publishing the letter in The New […]
The following is a translation a report written by opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and Solidarity activist Leonid Martynyuk, detailing allegations of rampant corruption in the preparations for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics The original excerpted report was published on July 7, 2013. A significant update, with many new findings and some eyeopening headlines, has been published […]
Nezavisimaya Gazeta, an independent Russian daily newspaper, shines a spotlight on another one of Russia’s neighbors, Belarus. – Ed. Belarus’s Alexander Lukashenko has acknowledged the woeful state of the national economy, but stopped short of admitting his own complicity in it. Experts regard the failure of the current president’s socio-economic policy as the cause of […]
