All Articles - Institute of Modern Russia

Details: Nation

Thinking “Out of the Box”

Details: 18 December 2012; Alexander Yanov

The grave consequences of a direct confrontation with the authorities and the unlikelihood of victory in today’s managed “elections” do not mean that Russia’s opposition has no chance of success. According to historian and IMR Advisor Alexander Yanov, Kremlin critics must think “out of the box” and make use of international structures.

Details: World

Bill Browder: “The Impunity Bubble Is Broken”

Details: 18 December 2012

After the Magnitsky Act was passed by the U.S. Senate, Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital and one of the bill’s most active proponents, spoke at Columbia University Law School. He told the story of Sergei Magnitsky, who exposed the largest embezzlement scheme in Russian history, was jailed and died in Moscow prison. Ian Hague, co-founder of Firestone Management, and Kimberly Marten, acting director of the Harriman Institute, also shared their views on the issue.

Details: Politics

The Double Standards of Russian Politics

Details: 13 December 2012

In an attempt to improve the Russian government’s public image, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev is looking to cut the figure of a man who can quickly and effectively solve major problems. According to IMR analysts, however, the problems and solutions discussed by Medvedev are often far removed from the actual needs of the situation.

Details: Law

The Magnitsky Sanctions in Canada

Details: 13 December 2012; Vladimir Kara-Murza

The passage of the Magnitsky Act in the United States was not the end, but the beginning of the global campaign to ban human rights abusers from traveling to the West and using its financial systems. This week, the Canadian Parliament turned its attention to this issue, hearing the testimony from IMR Senior Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza and Hermitage Capital CEO William Browder.

Details: Nation

"Primakov's List" and Berezovsky's Apartment

Details: 09 December 2012

The only alternative candidate to today's president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Yevgeny Primakov. I have always believed that in the choice between Putin and Primakov, Primakov should have been considered the lesser of two evils.

Details: Politics

The Autumn of the Dictator. Part Two

Between Europe and Russia

Details: 09 December 2012; Olga Khvostunova

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of article on the political history of contemporary Belarus. In the first installment, we focused on the reasons for the failure of Belarusian ethnic national project; the mistakes of the post-Soviet democratic period; Alexander Lukashenko's fast rise to power; and transformation of the country into a presidential republic. In the second article of the series, we will speak about political repressions under Lukashenko's rule and his political maneuvring of the last 15 years between Europe and Russia. It appears that Belarusian president has recently become fully dependent on the Kremlin's and Vladimir Putin's will.

Details: World

Russia’s Victory in Congress

Details: 06 December 2012; Vladimir Kara-Murza

The Magnitsky Act, passed this week by the U.S. Congress, imposes visa and financial restrictions on Russian officials implicated in corruption and human rights violations, thus giving Russian citizens a tool for defending themselves against the authoritarian system. According to IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza, this is the most pro-Russian law ever adopted in a Western country.

Details: Politics

The Propaganda of the Putin Era

Part Two: The Kremlin's Tentacles

Details: 05 December 2012

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of articles that are focused upon the operation of the propaganda machine within the system of power constructed by Vladimir Putin. In the first installment, IMR experts analyzed “domestic” propaganda, aimed at sustaining the popularity of the regime and its leader among Russian voters. Part two of the series studies "foreign" propaganda—that is, building a positive image of the Kremlin abroad. Despite the destruction of the USSR, many Soviet style mechanisms of propaganda have been recently reengaged. Still, new methods of propaganda have also been developed.