Institute of Modern Russia

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Law

The Fight Against Corruption as a New Year’s Present

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26 December 2012

Ekaterina Mishina

On January 1, a new federal law designed to establish oversight over the expenditures of public officials and reduce the scope of corruption takes effect in Russia. IMR Advisor Ekaterina Mishina, a prominent Russian legal expert, warns against a rush to judgment and suggests that the effectiveness of the anti-corruption law can only be measured by its future enforcement.

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Politics

Putin’s Address, or Playing the Spiritual Leader

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21 December 2012

Tatiana Stanovaya

On December 12, Vladimir Putin delivered his annual state-of-the-nation address. This address had been eagerly anticipated, since it would be the president’s first statement of policy since the winter protests, following on the heels of a significant toughening-up of legislation and the beginning of persecution of the opposition. The question the public wanted answered was what would the “Putin line” be in these new political realities? Tatyana Stanovaya, head of the analytical department at the Center of Political Technologies and an advisor at the IMR, tries to read between the lines of Putin’s answer.

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Politics

Putin's Response

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20 December 2012

Vladimir Kara-Murza

In response to the passage of the Magnitsky Act in the U.S., Russia’s authorities are introducing a blanket ban on adoptions of Russian children by American citizens. The Kremlin’s behavior has already been compared to that of the terrorists who use children as a “human shield.” According to IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza, the Putin regime is reaching a new level of turpitude.

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World

Leon Aron: “The U.S. Stance on Russia is a Major Factor of Domestic Legitimization of the Regime”

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20 December 2012

Olga Khvostunova

The relationship between the United States and Russia is going through a difficult time. The “reset” policy has come to a logical end, but new ways of cooperation have not yet been found. The scope of the mutual agenda has narrowed. As Leon Aron, director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), points out, within the given context, reelected U.S. president Barack Obama’s stance on Russia will be a key factor in determining the future of this relationship. Dr. Aron spoke of the priorities of U.S. foreign policy and this policy’s influence on the Russian regime with IMR’s Olga Khvostunova.

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Nation

Thinking “Out of the Box”

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18 December 2012

Alexander Yanov

The grave consequences of a direct confrontation with the authorities and the unlikelihood of victory in today’s managed “elections” do not mean that Russia’s opposition has no chance of success. According to historian and IMR Advisor Alexander Yanov, Kremlin critics must think “out of the box” and make use of international structures.

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World

Bill Browder: “The Impunity Bubble Is Broken”

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18 December 2012

After the Magnitsky Act was passed by the U.S. Senate, Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital and one of the bill’s most active proponents, spoke at Columbia University Law School. He told the story of Sergei Magnitsky, who exposed the largest embezzlement scheme in Russian history, was jailed and died in Moscow prison. Ian Hague, co-founder of Firestone Management, and Kimberly Marten, acting director of the Harriman Institute, also shared their views on the issue.

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Politics

The Double Standards of Russian Politics

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13 December 2012

In an attempt to improve the Russian government’s public image, Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev is looking to cut the figure of a man who can quickly and effectively solve major problems. According to IMR analysts, however, the problems and solutions discussed by Medvedev are often far removed from the actual needs of the situation.

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Law

The Magnitsky Sanctions in Canada

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13 December 2012

Vladimir Kara-Murza

The passage of the Magnitsky Act in the United States was not the end, but the beginning of the global campaign to ban human rights abusers from traveling to the West and using its financial systems. This week, the Canadian Parliament turned its attention to this issue, hearing the testimony from IMR Senior Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza and Hermitage Capital CEO William Browder.

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Nation

"Primakov's List" and Berezovsky's Apartment

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09 December 2012

The only alternative candidate to today's president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Yevgeny Primakov. I have always believed that in the choice between Putin and Primakov, Primakov should have been considered the lesser of two evils.

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Politics

The Autumn of the Dictator. Part Two

Between Europe and Russia

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09 December 2012

Olga Khvostunova

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of article on the political history of contemporary Belarus. In the first installment, we focused on the reasons for the failure of Belarusian ethnic national project; the mistakes of the post-Soviet democratic period; Alexander Lukashenko's fast rise to power; and transformation of the country into a presidential republic. In the second article of the series, we will speak about political repressions under Lukashenko's rule and his political maneuvring of the last 15 years between Europe and Russia. It appears that Belarusian president has recently become fully dependent on the Kremlin's and Vladimir Putin's will.