All Articles - Institute of Modern Russia

Moscow Sees Washington Shutdown as Sign of U.S. Decline

Details: World

Moscow Sees Washington Shutdown as Sign of U.S. Decline

Details: 24 October 2013; Donald N. Jensen

The recent U.S. government shutdown was widely discussed in the Russian media. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, notes that the general tone of the comments was markedly less anti-American than usual.

A Decade of Injustice: IMR Exhibit on Capitol Hill

Details: News

A Decade of Injustice: IMR Exhibit on Capitol Hill

Details: 24 October 2013

On October 22, the Institute of Modern Russia, Freedom House, and the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice co-hosted an exhibit on Capitol Hill commemorating the tenth anniversary of the arrest of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s most prominent political prisoner.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Kremlin’s Prisoner

Details: Politics

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Kremlin’s Prisoner

Details: 24 October 2013; Vladimir Kara-Murza

On October 25, 2003, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, head of the Yukos oil company and chairman of the Open Russia Foundation, was arrested at the Novosibirsk airport. A decade later, he remains Russia’s most prominent political prisoner. IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza considers that day to have been the turning point in the modern history of Russia, and the Khodorkovsky case to be the most vivid symbol of the country’s authoritarian regime.

Putin’s “Postmodern Dictatorship” Discussed in Washington

Details: News

Putin’s “Postmodern Dictatorship” Discussed in Washington

Details: 22 October 2013

On October 15, prominent experts and politicians gathered in Washington DC to discuss recent political developments in Russia. The discussion was based on British researcher Peter Pomerantsev’s paper “Russia: A Postmodern Dictatorship.” The event was co-sponsored by the Institute of Modern Russia, the Legatum Institute, and the National Endowment for Democracy.

Echoes of the Past: Punitive Psychiatry

Details: Nation

Echoes of the Past: Punitive Psychiatry

Details: 21 October 2013; Alexander Podrabinek

In October, Russian activist Mikhail Kosenko, one of the accused in the "Bolotnaya Square Case," was sentenced to compulsory psychiatric treatment. This was the first instance of an open use of psychiatry for political purposes in post-Soviet Russia. Author and human rights campaigner Alexander Podrabinek, who was convicted in the 1970s for his book "Punitive Medicine," concludes that the Soviet practice of punitive psychiatry has returned to Russia.

Accessible Environments for Russians with Disabilities

Details: Nation

Accessible Environments for Russians with Disabilities

Details: 21 October 2013; Boris Bruk

Thirteen million people with disabilities currently reside in Russia—this is around 10 percent of the country’s population. Yet the conditions for their integration and normal everyday life are still highly inadequate. IMR Advisor Boris Bruk assesses the problem and the possible solutions.

There Is No Such Thing as a Former “Eminence Grise”: On the Return of Vladislav Surkov

Details: Politics

There Is No Such Thing as a Former “Eminence Grise”: On the Return of Vladislav Surkov

Details: 21 October 2013; Tatiana Stanovaya

In late September, former deputy Kremlin chief-of-staff Vladislav Surkov returned to the Kremlin as an assistant to President Vladimir Putin. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya discusses why the Russian leader needed to rehabilitate the former “eminence grise.”

Hostile Takeover: On Putin’s “Judicial Reform”

Details: Law

Hostile Takeover: On Putin’s “Judicial Reform”

Details: 17 October 2013; Ekaterina Mishina

In early October, Vladimir Putin introduced a bill into the State Duma that would abolish Russia’s Supreme Arbitration Court and transfer its functions to the Supreme Court. IMR Advisor Ekaterina Mishina, a prominent legal scholar, contends that the bill destroys one of the few remaining accomplishments of Russia's judicial reforms.

The “Shelling of Parliament” or Coup d’Etat #2?

Details: Nation

The “Shelling of Parliament” or Coup d’Etat #2?

Details: 16 October 2013; Alexander Yanov

The twentieth anniversary of the crisis of September–October 1993—the conflict between Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the Supreme Soviet—is being widely discussed in the media. Historian Alexander Yanov, a scholar of Russian nationalism, offers his perspective on these events.

"A Decade of Injustice": Washington DC, October 22

Details: News

"A Decade of Injustice": Washington DC, October 22

Details: 16 October 2013

October 25 will mark the 10th anniversary behind bars for Russian political prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Please join us in Washington DC on October 22 as we recognize Khodorkovsky and highlight cases that have come to symbolize injustice in Russia.

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