Institute of Modern Russia

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Nation

Khodorkovsky and Putin

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25 June 2013

Vladimir Kara-Murza

June 26 marks the 50th birthday of Mikhail Khodorkovsky—and his 10th birthday behind bars. IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza discusses the personalities and the times of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Vladimir Putin, modern Russia’s two antipodes.

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World

Three Women and Russia

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21 June 2013

Donald N. Jensen

The promotion of Susan Rice, Samantha Power, and Victoria Nuland to key foreign policy positions in the US administration could signal a shift in White House policy on Russia. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, ponders whether the “reset” can continue after the personnel changes.

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Politics

The Case of Experts: “You are either with us or against us.”

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21 June 2013

Tatiana Stanovaya

A new criminal case known as the “case of experts” is underway in Russia. Its first outcome was the emigration of Sergei Guriev, rector of the Moscow New Economic School, who fled the country following interrogations over his participation in a panel of experts that reported on the infamous Yukos trial. Guriev himself has called his case a special one, but history might prove otherwise. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya asks whether the new case targets those involved in the Yukos trial, or whether it is the start of a broader attack on liberal experts in Russia.

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Politics

The Kremlin’s Voice: 10 Years Without Independent TV in Russia

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20 June 2013

Vladimir Kara-Murza

Ten years ago, Russian authorities terminated the broadcasts of TVS, the country’s last nationwide independent television channel. The monopoly on information has allowed the Kremlin to consolidate its power and expand corruption on an unprecedented scale. According to IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza, the purging of independent TV has allowed Vladimir Putin to significantly delay the development of Russian society—but not to stifle it altogether.

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Politics

They Need Peace—and the World

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20 June 2013

Alexander Podrabinek

According to reports in the Russian press, Vladimir Putin has decreed that a separate budget be set aside for the improvement of “Russia’s image” abroad. Author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek contends that no amount of investments will be able to improve the international reputation of the current Kremlin regime.

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Politics

Whose Idea Was It to Build a Winter Resort in the Warmest Part of Russia?

Putin's biggest critic talks about the troubles facing the Sochi Winter Olympics

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18 June 2013

Olga Khvostunova

The investigative report “Winter Olympics in the Sub-Tropics: Corruption and Abuse in Sochi,” published by Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and pro-democracy activist Leonid Martynyuk, focuses on corruption in the run-up to the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. IMR Advisor Olga Khvostunova and Michael Weiss, editor-in-chief of The Interpreter, an IMR publication, interviewed Nemtsov about his report. (Both the report and the interview were translated into English by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick.)

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Nation

Good Governance for Russia: UN Plans After 2015

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17 June 2013

Boris Bruk

In May, the UN High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda presented a report entitled “A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies through Sustainable Development.” IMR Advisor Boris Bruk is skeptical about the prospects for the realization of these goals in Russia.

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Politics

Russian Clans’ Ongoing Feud

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12 June 2013

Donald N. Jensen

The fundamental driver of Russian elite politics is the clan: a network of personal contacts that cuts across facile divisions between “state” and “oligarchs,” liberals” and “conservatives,” and “reformers” and “siloviki.” According to Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, despite constant struggles between these clans, they haven’t been able to produce a political leader who would succeed to the current president.

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Politics

The Case of Sociologists: Who Needs Honest Opinion Polls?

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10 June 2013

Tatiana Stanovaya

The Analytical Center of Yuri Levada, one of Russia’s most reputable polling organizations, has received a warning from the Savelovsky interdistrict prosecutor’s office for its unwillingness to register itself as a “foreign agent.” According to the prosecutors, the Levada Center violates a new law that prohibits NGOs from being involved in political activity and receiving foreign funding without revising the organization’s status. Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya argues that it is not the foreign funding, but rather the publication of sociological data that has provoked the Kremlin’s ire, and talks about where honest sociology can lead.

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Politics

Can Alexei Kudrin Be The Next Russian Prime Minister?

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06 June 2013

Donald N. Jensen

As Russia’s economy slows, corruption worsens, and current Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev’s political stature shrinks, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin’s name is mentioned more and more frequently as a potential candidate for Russia’s next prime minister. However, Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, argues that, given Russia's current political and economic uncertainty, it is not likely to happen.