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Verdict for Prisoners of the Bolotnaya Case Is a Verdict for Russian Society

Details: Politics

Verdict for Prisoners of the Bolotnaya Case Is a Verdict for Russian Society

Details: 20 February 2014; Olga Khvostunova

Today, on February 21, Moscow’s Zamoskvoretsky court will read the verdict for eight prisoners of the Bolotnaya Square Case. Hardly anyone doubts that the verdict in this politically motivated show trial will be guilty. The defendants are facing five to six years in a penal colony. The only question left at the moment is how cruel the sentence will actually be.

Special Prisons for the Extremely Dangerous

Details: Politics

Special Prisons for the Extremely Dangerous

Details: 19 February 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

A bill is being prepared by the State Duma under which people convicted for terrorism and extremism would be held in separate facilities from those housing other convicts. According to writer Alexander Podrabinek, this bill is yet another step that will bring Russia closer to a Soviet-style totalitarian state.

The Duma’s Problem with Historical Memory

Details: Law

The Duma’s Problem with Historical Memory

Details: 18 February 2014; Ekaterina Mishina

A few weeks ago a new bill was introduced for consideration in the first reading at the Russian State Duma. The bill focuses on, quote, “prohibiting the rehabilitation of Nazism.” IMR advisor and prominent legal expert Ekaterina Mishina argues that this bill is another demonstration of the current tendency to restoration of the Soviet approaches and policies.

Attack Against Dozhd

Details: Politics

Attack Against Dozhd

The Kremlin's New Campaign Against the Media

Details: 14 February 2014; Tatiana Stanovaya

In late January, the Russian government launched a campaign against the independent TV channel Dozhd, known for its liberal position. The reason is a poll regarding the Nazi blockade of Leningrad during World War II served as a pretext for the government campaign. Seen by the government as a "spiritual bond" that unifies Russian society, the blockade is a very sensitive topic. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya discusses how far the Kremlin is prepared to go.

The Kremlin’s Euromaidan Endgame

Details: World

The Kremlin’s Euromaidan Endgame

Details: 13 February 2014; Donald N. Jensen

Last week Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych returned to work after a four-day sick leave that he took in the middle of a major crisis in his country. According to Donald N. Jensen, resident fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the two-month standoff between Yanukovich’s government and protestors is entering a decisive phase.

The Kremlin’s Interest in “Local Business”

Details: Politics

The Kremlin’s Interest in “Local Business”

Details: 11 February 2014; Tatiana Stanovaya

The question of whether or not the Kremlin will abolish direct mayoral elections in major Russian cities is likely to be one of the major political intrigues of 2014. Although the Russian Constitution prohibits cancellation of direct mayoral elections, as does the European Charter of Local Self-Government, circles close to the Kremlin have already figured out how to circumvent these legislative obstacles. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya believes that the Kremlin has a strong incentive to succumb to the temptation of extending Russia’s “vertical of power”.

Russia: Presumption of Innocence as “Legal Fiction”

Details: Law

Russia: Presumption of Innocence as “Legal Fiction”

Details: 05 February 2014; Ekaterina Mishina

Russia’s criminal process is about to be revamped once again. A new bill submitted to the Duma would incorporate the principle of “objective truth” into the criminal procedure and to eliminate the adversarial system. IMR Advisor Ekaterina Mishina, a prominent legal scholar, contends that this means, for all intents and purposes, the abolition of the presumption of innocence in Russia.

Details: Nation

Osobnyachestvo

Russia’s Moral Isolation from Europe

Details: 03 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 explains how Nicholas I created a powerful and durable myth of osobnyachestvo (Russia’s own unique way) and thus destroyed the idea of the European way for the country.

Putinism’s Contradictions: Vertical or Horizontal Power?

Details: Politics

Putinism’s Contradictions: Vertical or Horizontal Power?

Details: 31 January 2014; Donald N. Jensen

According to a recent study by Russian political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky, Vladimir Putin is gradually losing control over the political system and is no longer considered an undisputed arbiter by different power groups. Donald Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, discusses the report and draws his own conclusions.

“Destabilization of Government” as Terrorism: Legislative Echo of the Volgograd Bombings

Details: Politics

“Destabilization of Government” as Terrorism: Legislative Echo of the Volgograd Bombings

Details: 23 January 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

The Russian Duma is considering new “antiterrorist” legislation that would further tighten state control over Russian citizens. Among other things, “destabilization of government bodies” will be equated with “terrorist activity.” Author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek notes that the Kremlin has once again used terrorist attacks as a pretext to expand its own powers.

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