Analysis - Institute of Modern Russia

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Lexicon of the Russian Idea

Details: Nation

Lexicon of the Russian Idea

Details: 14 March 2014; Alexander Yanov

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of articles by Alexander Yanov on the history of Russian nationalism. In this new essay, the author discusses the key concepts of the Russian idea and their reincarnation in today’s Russia.

Ukraine Goes for Lustration

Details: Law

Ukraine Goes for Lustration

Details: 13 March 2014; Ekaterina Mishina

The new Ukrainian government has backed a bill that would establish performance and lustration reviews for judges in the country’s regular courts. IMR Advisor Ekaterina Mishina discusses the bill in the context of judicial reform in Ukraine and the history of lustration in other post-Soviet states.

Why Putin Wants Ukraine

Details: World

Why Putin Wants Ukraine

Details: 10 March 2014; Poel Karp

While Russian state propaganda talks about a “fascist” threat emanating from the new government of Ukraine, it is Russia itself that could turn to fascism if Vladimir Putin’s anti-Ukrainian campaign is allowed to succeed. Such is the view of Russian author and sociologist Poel Karp, who warns the West against capitulating before the Kremlin.

The Crimean Prospects

Details: World

The Crimean Prospects

Details: 06 March 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

The Russian annexation of Crimea, which has already started, presents the international community with the need to give a firm response to the Kremlin. Russian author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek notes the West’s responsibility for having strengthened Vladimir Putin’s regime in the first place, and warns of grave consequences if the Kremlin’s plans for Ukraine are allowed to succeed.

“Those Who Unleash a War on Ukraine Will be Damned by the Russian People.” Russia’s Opposition on the Ukraine Crisis.

Details: World

“Those Who Unleash a War on Ukraine Will be Damned by the Russian People.” Russia’s Opposition on the Ukraine Crisis.

Details: 06 March 2014

According to the state-owned All-Russia Center for the Study of Public Opinion, 73 percent of Russians are against intervention in Ukraine. All the leading opposition forces in Russia have condemned the military invasion and the planned annexation of Crimea. The Institute of Modern Russia publishes excerpts from Russian opposition statements on the situation in Ukraine.

Kremlin Rolls the Dice in Ukraine

Details: World

Kremlin Rolls the Dice in Ukraine

Details: 05 March 2014; Donald N. Jensen

The political and military crisis in Ukraine, instigated by the Kremlin, remains the principal concern for the international community. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, analyzes the possible risks—both for Ukraine and for Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia.

Five Lessons from Ukraine’s Revolution

Details: World

Five Lessons from Ukraine’s Revolution

Details: 28 February 2014; Tatiana Stanovaya

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has been deposed; Maidan demonstrators are “appointing” new ministers; and the Party of Regions, which used to provide the pro-Yanukovych majority in the Verkhovna Rada (parliament), has as good as disappeared. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya discusses why the regime, which seemed relatively solid only six months ago, has collapsed, and what lessons other authoritarian leaders should draw from this.

Sochi and the Circassian Issue

Details: Nation

Sochi and the Circassian Issue

Details: 27 February 2014

Neither the Russian Olympic team’s victory in the unofficial medal competition at the Sochi Winter Games nor Russia’s achievements in sports can compensate for the number of acute issues that surfaced in the course of the Olympic preparations. One of them is the Circassian issue, which has been kept undeservingly under cover for years. Sufian Zhemukhov and Robert Orttung of George Washington University tell the story of the Russian conquest of Sochi, during which the Circassian population was almost wiped out.

Slavophiles and the Birth of National Liberalism

Details: Nation

Slavophiles and the Birth of National Liberalism

Details: 26 February 2014; Alexander Yanov

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of articles by Alexander Yanov on the history of Russian nationalism. In this new essay, the author discusses the birth of national liberalism, a new world outlook that combines two conflicting ideologies: modern liberalism and the medieval belief in the exceptionalism of the Russian nation.

Russia-EU: Speed-dating

Details: World

Russia-EU: Speed-dating

Details: 25 February 2014; Elena Servettaz

Recent developments in Ukraine will once again test the EU-Russia relationship, which has been going through a rough patch. The cooling of relations was noticeable at the last Russia-EU summit in Brussels, as well as at the winter meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in Strasbourg. The situation threatens to turn into a silent standoff. Paris-based author and analyst Elena Servettaz details the latest twists and turns of the bilateral relationship.

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