Institute of Modern Russia - Institute of Modern Russia

Details: Human Rights

February-March 2022: War, censorship, increased repression

Details: 29 March 2022; Diana Fishman

The results of the past two months have been devastating for Russian civil society: basic constitutional rights have been severely restricted; military censorship and the state’s monopoly on the truth have been officially introduced; and freedom of speech and assembly has been completely destroyed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine gave a powerful boost to the Putin regime’s repressive machine. Anti-war protesters are being detained and beaten en masse in police stations, and the courts continue to hand down harsh sentences on trumped-up charges. IMR compiled a list of the most egregious cases of suppression of human rights and freedoms recorded in Russia in February and March 2022.

Details: Opinions

Nowhere to retreat: Vladimir Putin is trapped in Ukraine

Details: 22 March 2022; Michael Wasiura

By nearly every available measure, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a disaster for Russia. Yet even as military losses mount and economic sanctions reduce the living standards of ordinary Russians, there is little reason to believe that the Kremlin will change course. By ordering his tanks to cross the border into Ukraine, Vladimir Putin may have made a catastrophic error, but it is an error that cannot be corrected so long as the current regime in Moscow remains in power.

Details: Analysis

World without Russia

Details: 17 March 2022; Vladislav Inozemtsev

The war unleashed by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine will have grave consequences for Russia—political, economic, cultural. However, contrary to the Kremlin’s thinking, Russia’s importance on the world stage, which is being rapidly reconsidered today, is in fact not so great. Modern Russia is beginning to fade into the past.

Details: Analysis

A big war in Ukraine: The Kremlin’s goals and consequences for world politics

Details: 16 March 2022; Mykola Vorobiov

On February 24, the Russian army crossed the Ukrainian border in several directions simultaneously, thus beginning a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin employed most of its armed forces—around 130,000 people, according to various estimates—that had accumulated along the Ukrainian border over the past four months.

Details: Analysis

Russian Jews: a complicated narrative

Details: 08 March 2022; Dmitry Shlapentokh

Last October former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wrote an article focusing on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, an ethnic Jew. Medvedev mocked and insulted him, implying that Zelensky is a treacherous Jew and a disgusting person. The article was criticized for anti-Semitism and attempts at undermining Zelensky’s political status in Ukraine, but it also reflects complicated attitudes toward Jews in the Soviet Union and Russia.

Details: News

WAR IN UKRAINE: the world is at the critical junction, urgent action is needed now

Details: 04 March 2022

IMR's president Pavel Khodorkovskiy calls for immediate action to shelter Ukraine's sky and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

Details: Analysis

From victor to aggressor: A metamorphosis

Details: 03 March 2022; Ekaterina Mishina

On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine under the pretenses of “demilitarization” and “denazification” of the country. Legal scholar and professor at the Free University Ekaterina Mishina analyzes the legal aspects of the war and looks at the cultural ramifications of the actions of the Russian Federation, which, by President Putin’s will, has turned from a victor nation into an aggressor nation.

Details: Analysis

Kremlin propaganda goes to war

Details: 01 March 2022; Michael Wasiura

For weeks leading up to February 24, as Russian military equipment moved into position around Ukraine’s borders and as U.S. government spokespersons warned of an “imminent” attack, foreign and domestic Russia analysts did not expect that an actual war was about to begin. Many pointed to the lack of a “rally around the flag” propaganda campaign as evidence that the Kremlin was not preparing the public for a potentially generation-defining conflict. This expectation was a mistake. The Kremlin propaganda’s goal was not to rally support, but to suppress opposition. At least for now, this campaign has been a success.

Details: News

IMR’s statement on the situation in Ukraine

Details: 24 February 2022; Institute of Modern Russia

Details: Analysis

Is the Kremlin ready to reject the Minsk Accords?

Details: 21 February 2022; Mykola Vorobiov

Following the three-month escalation along the Ukrainian border, the Kremlin must resort to unpopular decisions—such as recognition of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics—in order to save face both before its own citizens and the collective West. Despite the colossal pressure, Kyiv is refusing to abide by the Minsk Accords on Moscow’s terms, and that means that the Kremlin’s blackmail may result in real military action. However, further escalation is unlikely in the upcoming few months: most likely, the Kremlin will continue destabilizing the situation inside Ukraine.

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