In September Russia supported a UN initiative “promoting human rights through sport and the Olympic ideal.” The measure granted no new rights, but was simply pledging to initiative a “review” of current policies. Below, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations praises the efforts, but the initiative was received with skepticism immediately upon its release. Human […]
Nationalism and patriotism are rampant in Russia. The Interpreter has been following many stories that indicate that this sentiment is often manifested in unhealthy policies. Russia has threatened its neighbors for wanting to join the European Union, it has used immigration law as retribution for disloyalty, and it has used pogroms to crack down on ethnic […]
Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova is in prison, serving a two year sentence for “hooliganism.” She has just ended a hunger strike because of poor health, but below is the translation of her statement that she will return to hunger striking if her demands are not met. For more information on the hunger strike read […]
It’s not that Vladimir Putin will suffer no rivals, it’s that his rivals will suffer. Sergei Magnitsky, Sergey Udaltsov, Leonid Nevzlin, Sergei Guriyev, Mikhail Khodorkovsky… these are just a few of the names of outspoken critics of the Russian government who have been imprisoned or who have had to flee the country to avoid imprisonment, just because they have angered […]
As the U.S. government shutdown continues, the Russian media hasn’t been shy about weighing in. Yesterday we published an article in the pro-Kremlin outlet Ria Novosti entitled “The American Government Doesn’t Exist – For Now,” where the author asked, “will tanks shoot at the Congressional Building?” This piece, published in the liberal outlet, “Snob,” is […]
Several employees of Kommersant, an organization with deep Kremlin ties, have been fired for publicizing unauthorized quotes from Putin’s Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov. The offending quote suggested that Vladimir Putin was afraid to even mention opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s name in case it gave him free publicity. Putin has repeatedly spoken about Navalny without mentioning […]
This article was co-authored by Andrew S. Bowen and Luke Rodeheffer. There has been considerable speculation recently about a nascent alliance between China and Russia, especially given the context of America’s “pivot” to Asia. The pivot coincides with increasing anxiety by Russia over its Far East and has led it to increase its political and economic […]
The world is paying attention to the shutdown of the American government. Below is an enlightening explanation, meant for a Russian audience, of the political background that led to the shutdown, as well as some commentary. Of note is the likening of this crisis to the 1993 Russian coup. It was published in the state-owned […]
A Moscow court has decided that the results of the september mayoral election will stand, thus dismissing the complaints brought forward by opposition candidate Alexei Navalny. Most notably, the court decided that President Vladimir Putin did not break campaign laws when he gave an interview the week of the election where he suggested that Navalny […]
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, member of the punk rock band Pussy Riot, has ended her hunger strike after 9 days. Nadya was transferred to a prison hospital last week, and is reportedly in bad health. On September 28th, her lawyer, Irina Khrunova, told Novaya Gazeta that Nadya is in danger inside the prison, and is hunger striking […]
