Visual Representations, Pussy Riot, and Putin’s Hatred for Politics
If you need a short and comprehensible answer to the question of why Russia is not like the rest of Europe, look at the “Pussy Riot” trial. Perhaps the group…
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Russia
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Sports and Olympian Politics
Perhaps, the most striking paradox of the London Olympic Games is that in spite of the much-discussed commercialization they leave much space for politics. For Britain, the Games bear…
Of Jackals and Hamsters: Dividing Lines in Russian Politics and the Prospects for Democratization
Speaking to a gathering of his supporters at the height of Russia’s 2007–08 election cycle, President Vladimir Putin depicted his opponents as follows: "They need a weak, sick state. They…
How Much Can Russia Really Change? The Durability of Networked Authoritarianism
The events of recent months, during which a sleepy election season turned into Russia’s most heated period of political contestation since 1996, inevitably raise the question: To what degree is…
American Lessons: On the Path Toward Russian ‘Progressivism’
Russia needs its own Progressive Era. Let us be honest: many of the current problems of the Russian state and Russian governance were present in the United States prior to…
An Interactive Planning Approach to Shaping U.S.-Russia Relations
U.S. policy toward Russia, as toward the rest of the world, tends to be highly reactive. Analysts and policy-makers usually spend their time discussing what the Russian government might do…
Mission Impossible: Modernization in Russia after the Global Financial Crisis
After the global financial crisis, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev made modernization the centerpiece of his economic policy agenda. Most importantly, modernization meant diversifying the Russian economy to become less dependent…
No Enemy at the Gate: An Unusual Election Cycle in Russia
A few weeks after the September 2004 hostage crisis in Beslan, North Ossetia, the leading propaganda man of the Putin regime, Vladislav Surkov, declared: "We must all realize—the enemy is…
Russian Unions’ Political Ambitions after the Elections
Co-author: Irina Olimpieva The growing politicization of Russian labor unions in recent years reached a peak after the December 2011 parliamentary and March 2012 presidential elections, when both official and alternative…
Lost in Translation: Is there a Way to Overcome the Different Political Languages of Russia and the West?
Between Russia and the West, differences in terminology are perceived to signify irreconcilable differences in values, leading to a mutual lack of trust. Observe the language used by these former…