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The Human Rights Council Deprived of its Rights

Details: 03 July 2012; Tatiana Stanovaya

The Kremlin has been pursuing an increasingly hardline policy toward autonomous and opposition-minded agencies. The law on the liability for participating or organizing protests has been made more punitive; opposition leaders have been subjected to apartment searches; the authorities have made the first arrests of the so-called 'provocateurs'. Now the Kremlin is flexing its muscle by imposing new regulations on the Presidential Council on Civil Society Development and Human Rights. Officials apparently believe that government-affiliated body has failed Putin's test of loyalty. The chasm between government and society is seemingly becoming unbridgeable. Tatiana Stanovaya, head of the Center of Political Technologies analytics department, describes the intricacies of the relationship between Russian human rights advocates and the government.

Details: World

Spies at the Museum

Details: 02 July 2012

On June 27th, 2012 the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C. held a lecture entitled "The Russian Illegals Two Years Later: What Did It Mean?" Renowned intelligence historian and technical advisor to the U.S. Secret Service H. Keith Melton told the story of the Russian spies that rocked U.S.-Russia relations in July 2010. Guest of honor retired KGB Major General Oleg Kalugin decried the spies as absurd and said the Russian government was wasting its money.

Details: Nation

On Superpowers

Details: 28 June 2012; Alexander Yanov

For nearly a decade, challenging United States' dominance on the global arena has been the ideological cornerstone of Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy. However, although they call for a multi-polar world order, what Russian diplomats really want is to restore Russia’s lost grandeur and overthrow America as a superpower. With prominent examples from European history, Aleksander Yanov demonstrates how the absence of a global leader, such as the United States today, could hurl the world into chaos.

Details: Economics

Russia's Natural Resources: A Mixed Blessing

Details: 26 June 2012; Igor Booth

Dependence on oil exportation is one of the most controversial issues in Russian economics. In the course of many discussions, natural resources go from being considered a boon to being seen as a burden. However, as an independent financial analyst Igor Booth argues, the decelerated growth of the oil industry poses a much bigger threat than the Russian economy’s distorted structure. The economy will only grow if the state policies regulating the energy sector are overhauled and public perceptions of the "oil curse" are overcome.

Details: Nation

Politics Without Dialogue

Details: 21 June 2012; Olga Khvostunova

Russian authorities continue to test the opposition movement’s strength and determination. Earlier this month, a week before the March of Millions, the Duma passed a series of controversial amendments to the law on demonstrations. Several days later, the Investigative Committee of Russia searched the residences of prominent opposition leaders. According to IMR analyst Olga Khvostunova, the Kremlin’s inability to engage in a dialogue with the opposition is what will lead to the further escalation of this conflict.

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