Institute of Modern Russia

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Vadim Prokhorov: “Where Are the Organizers, Mr Putin? Did You Fail This Case?”

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14 December 2017

Olga Khvostunova

More than two and a half years passed since Boris Nemtsov’s murder, one of the highest profile political assassinations of the 21st century, but the masterminds and the organizers of this crime remain at large. Vadim Prokhorov, lawyer for Zhanna Nemtsova, argues that the legal mechanisms inside Russia are not working to fully solve this crime, which means that the next step is to draw international attention to the case. In the interview with Olga Khvostunova, editor-in-chief of imrussia.org, Prokhorov shared his insights on who is behind Nemtsov’s murder, what legal and political tools can be engaged to push the investigation forward, and which of the Western leaders are prepared to turn a blind eye to the regime’s crimes for the sake of realpolitik..

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Open Russia Online Resources Blocked in Russia

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11 December 2017

Roskomnadzor blacklisted Open Russia online resources upon the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office. According to the regulator’s website, a number of corresponding domain names have been blocked on December 11, 2017, citing Article 15.3 of the Federal Law No. 149-FZ “On Information,” which establishes the procedure that limits access to extremist information. 

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Media Must-Reads

Putin as Captain Impossible, Hidden Agenda, Sechin’s Spetsnaz

Russian media roundup, December 2-8, 2017

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08 December 2017

In this week’s roundup, Maxim Trudolyubov comments on Vladimir Putin’s announcement to run for a fourth term; Kirill Rogov argues that current discussions about Putin’s future prime minister are futile; New Times profiles former FSB head, General Oleg Feoktistov who, until recently, led Igor Sechin’s special services group among Russia’s siloviki; Yekaterina Shulman discusses “accidental” democratization; Ivan Lyubimov recommends partial decentralization as a first step to reforming the political sphere.

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IMR and AEI Hold a Discussion on Russia’s 2018 Election

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06 December 2017

Olga Khvostunova

On December 5, IMR’s Vladimir Kara-Murza spoke with Leon Aron, director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, on Russia’s upcoming presidential election, in which Vladimir Putin is viewed as the prohibitive favorite. Still, many issues continue to concern Russia watchers in the West. 

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Media Must-Reads

Foreign Agents, Alternative Internet, Lack of Optimism

Russian media roundup | November 24 — December 1, 2017

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01 December 2017

In this week’s roundup, New Times discusses what the new bill forcing Western-funded outlets to register as “foreign agents” implies in reality; Oleg Demidov details why Russia offered to develop a separate Internet for the BRICS countries and how this could cause the fragmentation of the World Wide Web; Boris Kolonitsky talks about memory politics and what unites Russian people today; Oleg Kharkordin poses the question of whether Russia has a republican future; Aleksei Makarin continues the debate on how Russia can achieve economic and political development via transitional institutions.

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Media Must-Reads

Asymmetrical Response, Russian Whistleblowers, Heirs of Sanctions

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17 November 2017

In this week’s roundup, Ivan Pavlov explains the latest media law in Russia that would force foreign media to register as “foreign agents’’; Damir Gainutdinov shares the findings of Agora’s report titled “A Hundred Russian Whistleblowers”; Grigory Yavlinsky makes the case that in the long term, anti-Russian sanctions are a critical concern for the country; The Bell details Economic Minister Maxim Oreshkin’s plan to reform his office and set up a new standard for other state agencies; Sergei Guriev writes that Russia needs to establish transitional institutions first if it wants to move beyond its “dependency path.”

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Media Must-Reads

Perspective Prime Ministers, Russian Revolution and the Legacy of Bolshevism

Russian media roundup, November 4-10, 2017

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10 November 2017

In this week’s roundup, New Times outlines four potential candidates for the position of prime minister during Putin’s presumed fourth term; Gleb Pavlovsky contends that the central political conflict in today’s Russia is not between Putin and Navalny, but between Putin and those who support a transition to the post-Putin future; Vladimir Pastukhov discusses the ways the October Revolution can influence Russia in the 21st century; Grigory Yavlinsky argues that the rise of Bolshevik power in Russia was the real geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century; Konstantin Tarasov explains why the Bolsheviks won in 1917.

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Media Must-Reads

Elites Paralysis, Presidential Administration, Scientists and Alchemists

Russian media roundup | October 28 - November 3, 2017

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02 November 2017

In this week’s roundup, Nikolai Petrov analyzes the recent elites reshuffling; New Times examines Putin’s presidential administration and the limits to its authority; Oleg Balanovsky comments on Putin’s claims that foreign agents are allegedly collecting DNA samples from Russians to create “ethnic bioweapons” and engage in biological warfare with Russia; Tatiana Stanovaya writes how Putin is forced to exist in two worlds—the “decent” one that upholds democracy and a cruel geopolitical “reality” where Russia is a besieged fortress; and Alexander Cherkasov commemorates victims of political repressions.

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Media Must-Reads

Revolution Centennial; Oligarchs and Sanctions; Sobchak’s Strategies

Russian media roundup | October 20-27, 2017

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27 October 2017

In this week’s roundup: Andrei Zubov explains why the Russian authorities are ignoring the centennial the Russian Revolution; The Bell gauges the reactions of Russian businessmen on the recent U.S. sanctions law; New Times outlines potential strategies for Ksenia Sobchak’s presidential campaign; Ivan Kurilla discusses the decision not to revoke Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky’s doctorate of historical sciences; Alexander Rubtsov juxtaposes the new official rhetoric of modernization and the growing abundance of various “fakes” in Russia’s political and social life.

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New Report: Re-Building Security in Europe

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24 October 2017

The Europe-Russia: People-to-People Dialogue roundtable took place in Prague on June 8-9, 2017, six months after the successful Boris Nemtsov Forum in Brussels. The meeting considered short- and long-term possibilities for stabilizing EU-Russia ties and developing linkages and patterns of cooperation to prepare a path for Russia’s reintegration with Europe.The event, organized by Open Russia and the Institute of Modern Russia, brought together 32 participants, among them MEPs, politicians, journalists and high profile experts from Russia and the EU. Karel Schwarzenberg, Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the Chamber of Deputies in the Parliament of the Czech Republic, was the guest speaker at a dinner organized during the event.