Analysis - Institute of Modern Russia

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The World Has Fallen Out of Love with Russia

Details: Nation

The World Has Fallen Out of Love with Russia

Details: 27 August 2014; Boris Bruk

The results of several recently published public opinion polls have shown that Russia’s reputation abroad has drastically worsened. According to sociologists, this change has been caused by Russia’s aggressive policies toward Ukraine. At the same time, IMR advisor Boris Bruk notes, public sentiment inside Russia has moved in the opposite direction.

How to Oppose the Kremlin’s Propaganda

Details: Nation

How to Oppose the Kremlin’s Propaganda

Details: 20 August 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

Since the beginning of 2014, the Kremlin’s campaign to put pressure on the country’s remaining independent media has picked up steam. The cancellation of the last relatively independent program on the Ren-TV channel, Week with Marianna Maksimovskaya, is the most recent example of this ongoing campaign. According to writer Alexander Podrabinek, the only way to oppose the Kremlin’s propaganda is by increasing access to alternative media and creating international TV channels that broadcast in the Russian language.

The Resurrection of “Cosmopolitanism” and the Consolidation of the Russian Party

Details: Nation

The Resurrection of “Cosmopolitanism” and the Consolidation of the Russian Party

Details: 18 August 2014; Alexander Yanov

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of articles by well-known scholar Alexander Yanov on the history of Russian nationalism in the USSR. In this essay he writes about the consolidation of the right-wing opposition in its struggle against cosmopolitanism and its diminished enthusiasm as a result of the measures taken during the Brezhnev regime that followed.

Crimea Proves Difficult to Digest

Details: World

Crimea Proves Difficult to Digest

Details: 14 August 2014; Donald N. Jensen

Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in February sparked a conflict between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists that has drawn in the international community. However, while international focus has shifted away from Crimea and toward the ongoing fighting along Ukraine’s border, Russia still faces challenges in integrating Crimea. Donald N. Jensen, resident fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, discusses how Russia has confronted these challenges and the possible consequences of its responses.

Russia vs. Ukraine: From Destabilization to Separatism

Details: Politics

Russia vs. Ukraine: From Destabilization to Separatism

Details: 12 August 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

At the end of July, Vladimir Putin signed a law toughening criminal punishments for calls for separatism. According to writer and analyst Alexander Podrabinek, the Kremlin in this way has revealed its fear that the achievements of the Ukrainian separatists might put in motion potentially threatening mechanisms in Russia.

Whose Feelings Did Marilyn Manson and Pussy Riot Hurt?

Details: Law

Whose Feelings Did Marilyn Manson and Pussy Riot Hurt?

Details: 07 August 2014; Ekaterina Mishina

In late June, rock musician Marilyn Manson, known for his flamboyant onstage persona, was supposed to take part in a rock festival in Moscow. The concert, however, was canceled due to an alleged bomb threat. His second scheduled concert in Novosibirsk was canceled at the demand of Orthodox Christian activists. IMR advisor Ekaterina Mishina and Skyline High School (Ann Arbor, MI) junior Alice Nikitinskaya draw parallels between this incident and the Pussy Riot case.

Putin Shows Off in Latin America

Details: World

Putin Shows Off in Latin America

Details: 06 August 2014; Donald N. Jensen

Dating back to the Cold War, Russian leaders have at times claimed illness or gone abroad even as they’ve carried out aggressive moves elsewhere. This tradition is alive and well today. As Donald N. Jensen, resident fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, notes, when Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, Putin was in Beijing; and this July, as the Ukraine conflict was escalating, he happened to take a tour to Latin America.

Crimean Tatars: Back to the Past

Details: Politics

Crimean Tatars: Back to the Past

Details: 04 August 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

In 1944, on Stalin’s orders, the Crimean Tatar people were deported from Crimea to Central Asia in the space of three days. According to analyst Alexander Podrabinek, seventy years later, the Russian authorities are still putting pressure, if not on the entire Crimean Tatar people, then at least on their most prominent representatives, by banning leaders of the Crimean Tatar assembly (or Mejlis) Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov from entering Russia.

The MH17 Crash: Putin’s Geopolitical Defeat

Details: Politics

The MH17 Crash: Putin’s Geopolitical Defeat

Details: 30 July 2014; Tatiana Stanovaya

On July 17, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing-777 was downed over eastern Ukraine, a region controlled by separatists. All 298 people on board were killed. It is still unclear who launched the missile, but the international community has blamed the tragedy on Russia. Political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya discusses the geopolitical consequences of the disaster.

Russia’s Mistral Deal: Where the Wind Blows

Details: World

Russia’s Mistral Deal: Where the Wind Blows

Details: 18 July 2014; Elena Servettaz

Since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, the West has been increasingly concerned about the delivery of two French Mistral-class helicopter carriers to Russia. With the third round of sanctions on the way, Paris’s continued insistence on delivering the carriers has brought a note of discord to the West’s general strategy of countering Russian aggression in Ukraine. Paris-based journalist Elena Servettaz discusses the controversial deal.

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