Russia 193 - PONARS Eurasia

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…

Why Russia Supports Repressive Regimes in Syria and the Middle East

In recent months, Russia (with Chinese support) has increasingly staked out a strong position in support of the Assad regime in Syria. As Syria’s allies dwindle, Russia has become its…

Russia-Georgia Today: An Illusory Stability

Both the frozen and unfrozen conflicts of the past two decades in post-Soviet Eurasia have undermined regional progress and cooperation and have negatively impacted broader European security. Weak states and…

Modernizing Sovereign Democracy? Russian Political Thinking and the Future of the ‘Reset’

“We have changed,” was the main message of President Dmitry Medvedev’s speech at the June 2010 St. Petersburg Economic Forum (SPEF). Trying to persuade foreign governments and investors alike to…

Reforming Russia’s Higher Education System

Between December 2010 and February 2011, members of Russian society were engaged in a discussion about a new education law, presented on the Internet on a special website. This was…

The Impact of the Hajj Pilgrimage in the North Caucasus

The Hajj, a pilgrimage to the holy sites of Islam in Mecca and Medina, is an increasingly common practice among Russia's Muslims. According to various estimates since 2007, at least…

The 2010 Russia-Belarus-Kazakhstan Customs Union: A Classic Case of Prinuzhdenie k Druzhbe (Friendship Enforcement)

The Customs Union (CU) between Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed in November 2009 and enacted on July 1, 2010, was a breakthrough integration project in the post-Soviet space. It happened…

Contacts

DIGITAL RESOURCES

Knowledge Hub

RECOMMENDED

Misconceptions about Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia and Their Impact on Policy

Five Years into the War, Ukraine Is Showing Grittiness, Rebounding Confidence in War Fortunes

Russia’s Wartime Internet: A Contested Space with the Regime Still Predominant

Why Georgians Need to Take Hungarian Lessons

The ‘Don’t Lose Lukashenko’ Approach: Kyiv’s (Non-) Strategic Ambiguity Toward the Belarusian Opposition

PONARS Eurasia Podcast

Russia