While the advantages of the Western path of development over the Eastern one are evident, for many centuries Russia has been unable to make a definitive choice. According to author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek, the Western model is the only way for the country to avoid ruin and degradation.
The decision to cancel Phase 4 of the planned US missile defense system in Europe, recently announced by the Pentagon, is good news for the Kremlin. Yet, according to Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Moscow may use it not to soften its stance, but to seek further concessions from the Obama administration.
Boris Berezovsky was a symbol of an era in which politics and business in Russia were led by distinctive, larger-than-life personalities. Such people cannot be painted simply in black or in white. IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza discusses the life and the times of the late Russian oligarch.
The evolution of Putin's regime toward tougher authoritarianism, which began with the "national leader's" return to the Kremlin, will soon affect its policies toward youth. Under Vladislav Surkov, the erstwhile “éminence grise,” pro-Kremlin movements were supposed to serve as the main "anti-Orange" force on the streets. The Nashi movement, which used to be the "core" of this force, now will likely be reformed. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya discusses the changes in the Kremlin's youth policy.
IMR Advisor Boris Bruk spoke with Anya Sarang, president of the Andrei Rylkov Foundation for Health and Social Justice, about the ongoing tuberculosis problem in Russia.
On March 24, the world marked the annual Tuberculosis Day. Whereas in Western countries this illness has been controlled since the middle of the 20th century, in Russia, tuberculosis remains an acute problem to this day. IMR Advisor Boris Bruk analyzes the situation and ponders the effectiveness of anti-tuberculosis measures taken by Russian authorities.
Despite their mutual aversion, the Russian government and the Russian opposition have one common trait—a tendency to oversimplify the image of their enemy for propagandistic purposes. Author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek argues that the opposition is making a grave mistake when it focuses all its efforts just on removing Vladimir Putin from power.
On March 18, Russia’s Nezavisimaya Gazeta published an op-ed by IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza. The article, entitled “Patriotism and Opposition,” was written in response to the officially sanctioned smear campaign against Kremlin opponents, who are being accused of “treason.”
Despite rumors of his waning influence, Rosneft chief Igor Sechin remains one of the most powerful members of Russia’s ruling establishment. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, discusses Sechin’s latest “string of triumphs.”
The Institute of Modern Russia begins a series of publications by prominent scholar Alexander Yanov on the history of Russian nationalism. In this introduction, the author discusses his new project and explains the difference between nationalism and patriotism.
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