Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin attracted international attention when he appeared to publicly rebuke his Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. For all the attention the incident received, the reason for the dispute between Medvedev and Putin has been largely ignored by the media. The Interpreter’s Andrew Bowen examines the new tax fraud laws, backed by Putin, […]
It’s no secret that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev often plays ‘second fiddle’ to President Vladimir Putin. Their relationship is a perfect illustration of how Putin maintains control. For the most part, though, if there is a power struggle between the two, it is kept out of the headlines. Last week, however, it roared back […]
Did Russian president Vladimir Putin just throw his prime minister Dmitry Medvedev under the bus? That’s how this article, published in the up-and-coming independent media outlet Dozhd (TV Rain), characterizes the latest statements from Putin. The pro-Kremlin outlet Ria Novosti, which first published Putin’s statements, makes no mention of Medvedev being the intended target of the […]
Recently, it seems that not a week goes by where the Russian military is not staging some very public exercise or announcing the arrival or planning of new equipment. Not since Peter the Great or the massive military buildup in WWII has the Russian military experienced such a windfall of money and political support. The […]
Today is Vladimir Putin’s 61st birthday. As such, we have decided to republish this article, originally published on June 3, 2013. – Ed. Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, I’m 29 and I’ve been living for 14 years with the depressing thought that there will be nobody except you to rule the country forever. When thousands of Russians […]
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 […]
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 […]
The press secretary of the head of state speaks about Vladimir Putin’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, the conflict in Syria and relations with the opposition and photoshops of the president. Dmitry Peskov, deputy head of the presidential administration and press secretary for the head of state spoke to Izvestiya correspondent Aleksandr Yunashev on […]
The world is still in the process of recovering from the economic crisis of 2008. However, if one looks at various macro indicators, the external factors are creating an economic environment that should have set Russia up for strong growth. However, the Russian economy is actually shrinking, and a growing number of economists believe that […]
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) met in Sochi to discuss security concerns facing the former Soviet bloc. Izvestia, a pro-Kremlin outlet, highlights the discussion of Syria. According to the report, the CSTO is concerned about “gangs” from Syria endangering their borders. This is curious, as one would think that the “gangs” in Syria have […]
