All Articles - Institute of Modern Russia

The Intricacies of Migration

Details: Nation

The Intricacies of Migration

Details: 28 February 2013; Alexander Podrabinek

The Russian government has a contradictory attitude toward immigration. Visa-free travel with Central Asian countries facilitates labor migration, yet a negative public attitude toward migrants is being encouraged. Author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek considers why the Kremlin benefits from such a state of affairs.

New Approach or Business As Usual? US-EU-Russia Relations After Putin’s Crackdown

Details: News

New Approach or Business As Usual? US-EU-Russia Relations After Putin’s Crackdown

Details: 28 February 2013

On March 4, the Institute of Modern Russia, the Foreign Policy Initiative, and Freedom House will hold a forum on the future of U.S.-EU-Russia relations on Capitol Hill. Speakers include Mikhail Kasyanov, Ludmila Alekseeva, Sen. Ben Cardin, Guy Verhofstadt, Dmitri Gudkov, Pavel Khodorkovsky, Kristiina Ojuland and others.

Duma Member Dmitri Gudkov: “This is the Agony of the Regime”

Details: Politics

Duma Member Dmitri Gudkov: “This is the Agony of the Regime”

Details: 26 February 2013; Olga Khvostunova

State Duma Member Dmitri Gudkov is a rare opposition voice in the Russian legislature. February 23 marked the official expiration of the ultimatum presented to Gudkov and to his father, Gennady: the leader of A Just Russia party, Sergei Mironov, demanded that they choose between their affiliation with the Coordinating Council of the Opposition and their membership in the party structures. Since the Gudkovs have refused to leave the opposition council, they will both be expelled from A Just Russia’s governing bodies. Dmitri Gudkov spoke with IMR’s Olga Khvostunova about the party's prospects and the political situation in Russia.

Columbia University Celebrated 400th Anniversary of the House of Romanov

Details: News

Columbia University Celebrated 400th Anniversary of the House of Romanov

Details: 26 February 2013

February 21, 2013, marked the 400th anniversary of the House of Romanov. In honor of this date, Columbia University held a conference entitled “In Search of Empire,” which was co-sponsored by the Institute of Modern Russia.

Vladimir Kara-Murza: I Demand a Retraction

Details: World

Vladimir Kara-Murza: I Demand a Retraction

Details: 25 February 2013; Vladimir Kara-Murza

I expect Mr. Lozansky and Nezavisimaya Gazeta to issue a public retraction of the false information contained in “Russian Landing Party in Washington.”

Putin’s War on Three Fronts

Details: Politics

Putin’s War on Three Fronts

Details: 25 February 2013; Tatiana Stanovaya

Two important tendencies have marked Russian political life during the past few months. The first is the Kremlin’s attempt to control officials’ and lawmakers’ foreign accounts and real estate holdings. The second is the growing activity of independent bloggers and civic activists in investigating unaccounted foreign assets of regime figures. Both the government and the opposition seem to be pursuing the same objective of exposing suspicious property owners. However, as political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya points out, the government’s interests and society’s interests do not overlap.

Putin Tries to Bring the Money Home

Details: Politics

Putin Tries to Bring the Money Home

Details: 25 February 2013; Donald N. Jensen

A “deoffshorization” campaign championed by Vladimir Putin is simultaneously designed to demonstrate a fight against corruption and to protect Kremlin allies who could become vulnerable in the West in the wake of the Magnitsky Act. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, argues that Putin’s campaign has accelerated internal splits that could prove fatal for his regime.

In a Post-“Reset” Era, Experts Urge More Attention to Human Rights

Details: World

In a Post-“Reset” Era, Experts Urge More Attention to Human Rights

Details: 21 February 2013

As Washington and Moscow move to a post-“reset” relationship, experts on Russia have joined a discussion panel at the Heritage Foundation to talk about the ways forward in bilateral contacts. Stephen Blank, Ariel Cohen, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Katrina Lantos Swett agreed that, in the context of Vladimir Putin’s crackdown, human rights must be high on the agenda for US-Russia relations.

Europe’s Lawmakers Add Fuel to the Fire of Anti-Semitism

Details: Nation

Europe’s Lawmakers Add Fuel to the Fire of Anti-Semitism

Details: 21 February 2013; Alexander Podrabinek

Criminal penalties for Holocaust denial have been established in several democratic states, primarily in the European Union. According to author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek, such laws clearly violate the freedom of expression—and, in the end, only work to the anti-Semites’ advantage.

Mikhail Prokhorov: Between the Kremlin and the Opposition

Details: Politics

Mikhail Prokhorov: Between the Kremlin and the Opposition

Details: 19 February 2013; Tatiana Stanovaya

Mikhail Prokhorov, one of Russia’s richest men, is actively developing his recently created party, Civic Platform. Prokhorov has the resources, personnel, influence and contacts that will, at the very least, attract considerable attention to his project. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya ponders whether Prokhorov is a businessman who decided to ride the wave of growing civic activism, a true fighter against the regime, or simply a Kremlin puppet.

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