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Back on the Leash: The End for A Just Russia

Details: Politics

Back on the Leash: The End for A Just Russia

Details: 29 January 2013; Vladimir Kara-Murza

A Just Russia, one of Russia’s four parliamentary parties, has demanded that four of its members, prominent opposition activists Dmitri Gudkov, Gennady Gudkov, Ilya Ponomarev, and Oleg Shein, sever all links with the protest movement. IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza argues that this ultimatum, which marks the end of A Just Russia’s cooperation with the pro-democracy opposition, leaves the party without a political future.

Corruption in Russia as a Business

Details: Nation

Corruption in Russia as a Business

Details: 29 January 2013; Alexandra Kalinina

Transparency International has ranked Russia 133rd in its recently-published 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index. The previous year, Russia was ranked 143rd. Is this improvement a result of effective anticorruption measures by the Russian government, or just a different methodology of calculation? According to economist Alexandra Kalinina, despite the improved score, corruption in Russia remains “not a problem, but a business.”

A Case in Point

Details: Politics

A Case in Point

Details: 28 January 2013; Alexander Podrabinek

Eduard Limonov’s support for the “scoundrels’ law,” which banned adoptions of Russian orphans by U.S. citizens, has finally ended the alliance between liberals and National Bolsheviks. Author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek, who has long warned the democratic opposition against cooperating with Limonov, discusses Russian liberals’ strange attraction to the enemies of freedom.

The End for Ballot Riggers

Details: Politics

The End for Ballot Riggers

Details: 24 January 2013; Tatiana Stanovaya

The “March against Scoundrels” recently held in Moscow demonstrated that protest sentiments in large Russian cities have not decreased, and that the rallies’ success is largely determined by their subject. As the 2011–2012 protests have shown, election fraud is becoming of the most topical issues for Russia’s civil society. For the first time in years, the opposition is trying to take part in the formation of precinct electoral commissions that organize the voting. Tatiana Stanovaya, head of the analytical department at the Center for Political Technologies and an IMR advisor, considers what may come out of it.

Obama’s Second Term: “Reset” or Rethink on Russia?

Details: World

Obama’s Second Term: “Reset” or Rethink on Russia?

Details: 23 January 2013; Vladimir Kara-Murza

As U.S. President Barack Obama begins his second term, IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza ponders whether there will now be a rethinking of the White House policy on Russia – or whether the administration will continue its “reset” with Vladimir Putin.

Yuri Shevchuk: “I Would Welcome a Spiritual Revolution in Russia”

Details: Nation

Yuri Shevchuk: “I Would Welcome a Spiritual Revolution in Russia”

Details: 23 January 2013

On January 16, Yuri Shevchuk, the lead singer for the Russian rock band DDT, met with the press and his New York fans at the Brooklyn Public Library. Shevchuk spoke about his American tour and discussed the current political situation in Russia.

Expelled from the “Kingdom of Democracy”

Details: Nation

Expelled from the “Kingdom of Democracy”

Details: 22 January 2013; Boris Bruk

Russia has long featured in international democracy rankings alongside authoritarian countries of the Third World. The latest Kremlin initiatives directed against NGOs only serve to underscore this similarity. As IMR analyst Boris Bruk argues, however, pressure on civil society offers no guarantees of the preservation of power.

The Duma’s Two Sets of Books

Details: Politics

The Duma’s Two Sets of Books

Details: 22 January 2013; Alexander Podrabinek

Having dealt with street rallies, NGOs, “spies,” and orphans, the Russian Duma has turned its attention to journalists. A new bill being drafted in the lower house (dubbed the “Pozner bill”) would ban Russians who hold citizenships of other countries from working on state-owned or state-supported television channels. According to author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek, the new initiative not only represents a cheap propagandistic stunt, but also demonstrates the hypocrisy of the current regime.

How Putin Elects the Duma

Details: Politics

How Putin Elects the Duma

Details: 17 January 2013; Tatiana Stanovaya

The electoral reform announced by Vladimir Putin – the switch from a proportional system of parliamentary elections to a mixed plurality-proportional one – has become one of the main topics of the current political season. This change heralds a reassessment of Putin’s style of political control. Tatiana Stanovaya, the head of the analytical department at the Center for Political Technologies and an IMR advisor, considers the president’s motives.

95 Years Without Legitimacy

Details: Politics

95 Years Without Legitimacy

Details: 16 January 2013; Vladimir Kara-Murza

Ninety-five years ago, in the early morning of January 19, 1918, the armed guards of the Tauride Palace, acting on the orders of Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, interrupted the session of the Russian Constituent Assembly. According to IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza, the illegitimacy of the Bolshevik usurpation of power still lies at the heart of Russia’s political system.

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