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What went wrong in Kazakhstan: a legal scholar’s point of view

Details: Analysis

What went wrong in Kazakhstan: a legal scholar’s point of view

Details: 11 January 2022; Ekaterina Mishina

In early January, Kazakhstan saw large-scale protests, which initially started due to a hike in gas prices. Very quickly, the protesters turned to political slogans, demanding that ex-president Nursultan Nazarbaev, the untouchable “Leader of the Nation,” leave his position of power. Legal scholar Ekaterina Mishina analyzes Kazakhstan’s experience of autocratic constitutional development and concludes that an endless strengthening of the power vertical is impossible.

New scholarship on Russia presented at the 2021 Virtual ASEEES Convention

Details: Analysis

New scholarship on Russia presented at the 2021 Virtual ASEEES Convention

Details: 17 December 2021; Liya Wizevich

The virtual sessions of the Annual Convention of the Association of Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) were held on December 1-3, 2021. To understand the current state of scholarship in the field, we review five panels that shared the latest research on Russia: the law on foreign agents, elections and protests, propaganda, and the factors leading to legitimization and support of Putin's rule.

From Sputnik V to MIR-19: How Russia is eroding scientific standards and the public trust

Details: Analysis

From Sputnik V to MIR-19: How Russia is eroding scientific standards and the public trust

Details: 07 December 2021; Vera Michlin-Shapir

In mid-October the Russian Federal Medical Biological Agency (FMBA) announced that by the end of 2021, it intends to register the first Russian-developed medicine against the coronavirus—MIR-19. Parallels between the registration of the first Russian anti-COVID-19 drug and the first registered vaccine, Sputnik V, suggest that Russian authorities have not learned their lesson from the vaccine’s troublesome rollout, and mistakes are to be repeated.

Union of unfree republics: from dawn to dusk

Details: Analysis

Union of unfree republics: from dawn to dusk

Details: 07 December 2021; Ekaterina Mishina

The end of December marks the 30th anniversary of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, resulting in the emergence of 15 new states, formerly Soviet republics, on the territory of the former superpower. The first line of the Soviet anthem—“Unbreakable union of free republics”—was only partially true. While formally free to secede from the Union, no Soviet republic ever attempted to exercise that right until Gorbachev’s reforms. And at the first attempt, the Union categorically refused to acknowledge the independence of the republics that sought to leave the “brotherly family of peoples.” Even at the dusk of its existence the Soviet Union firmly believed in remaining unbreakable, even in violation of its own Constitution.

Is America getting Russia wrong? Or is Russia getting the world wrong?

Details: Analysis

Is America getting Russia wrong? Or is Russia getting the world wrong?

Details: 06 December 2021; Liya Wizevich

Amidst growing tensions between the United States and Russia due to the latter’s military escalation in Ukraine, two experts, Fiona Hill and Andrea Kendall-Taylor, discussed the nature of Moscow’s relationships with Kyiv, the intersection of Russian and Chinese interests, and the critical misunderstandings that exist in Washington about these relationships.

Power vertical reloaded: Russia’s upcoming law on public administration

Details: Analysis

Power vertical reloaded: Russia’s upcoming law on public administration

Details: 01 December 2021; András Tóth-Czifra

On December 9, the bill "on the general principles of organizing public power" was passed by Russia's State Duma in the second reading. Its real goal is not to change titles or “zero out” gubernatorial terms, but to change the ways the federal authorities handle relations with regional elites. This makes it especially consequential and, by the standards of today’s Russian politics, hotly contested.

The aggravation of the situation in Ukraine is in Moscow’s favor

Details: Analysis

The aggravation of the situation in Ukraine is in Moscow’s favor

Details: 26 November 2021; Mykola Vorobiov

The Russian escalation across the Ukrainian border, tensions between Kyiv and Minsk, and a possible energy crisis as the cold season approaches could further push down the declining ratings of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who will need to act more assertively against his opponents. This can provoke a serious conflict with Ukraine, which will work to Moscow’s advantage.

The ballot, not the bullet: Russia’s pursuit of a geopolitical buffer zone

Details: Analysis

The ballot, not the bullet: Russia’s pursuit of a geopolitical buffer zone

Details: 24 November 2021; Michael Wasiura*

For centuries, Russian rulers have sought to maintain a physical buffer zone between themselves and any potential foreign invader. Even today, this historical characteristic of Kremlin psychology is cited as an explanation for Moscow’s attempts to maintain implicit control over political developments in independent Ukraine and Belarus. In a modern context, however, it is not the encroachment of NATO tanks, airplanes, or missiles that poses the greatest existential threat to Russia’s ruling class—it is the spread of free and fair elections.

The Memorial situation as a conclusive diagnosis

Details: Analysis

The Memorial situation as a conclusive diagnosis

Details: 19 November 2021; Ekaterina Mishina

On November 11, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office ordered the liquidation of International Memorial, a historical, educational, philanthropic, and advocacy organization, as well as its branches, including the Memorial Human Rights Center. It was alleged that these organizations had repeatedly violated the “foreign agent” law. In reality, what is happening is not just the result of the continuous search for enemies and witch hunts in the country, but also the blatant disregard of the legal stances of Russia’s Constitutional Court.

The Belarusian border crisis: Russia’s responsibility for Lukashenko’s rogue regime

Details: Analysis

The Belarusian border crisis: Russia’s responsibility for Lukashenko’s rogue regime

Details: 13 November 2021; Michael Wasiura*

Since June, the Belarusian state has been importing migrants from Africa and the Middle East, transporting them west from Minsk to the borders of the European Union, and deploying armed guards to prevent the refugees from returning to Belarusian territory. Russian officials’ failure to denounce the actions of its Union State partner make the Kremlin complicit in this scheme, even if there is—as of yet—no hard evidence directly tying Russian security services to the Belarusian human trafficking operation.

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