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A Tale of Two Russias

Details: 16 October 2019; Olga Khvostunova

Shares of the Russian tech giant Yandex dropped by over 18 percent on October 11 after it was reported that the Kremlin had backed new legislation aimed at limiting foreign ownership of the tech firms to 20 percent. This development came only two weeks after the annual Moscow Exchange Forum in New York at which top managers of the largest Russian companies, most of whom were from the West, praised the low-risk, high-value opportunities of the Russian market, naming tech as one of its key attractions.

Details: Analysis

Abandoning Russia’s Imperial Pursuit

Details: 26 September 2019; Dmitry Shlapentokh

Historian Dmitry Shlapentokh reviews Boris Akunin’s recent books—a novel and a historical treatise—that reflect the writer’s thinking about Russian history and thinly-guised allusions to the present and future. Seeing no good model for the Russian state in both the national and the European tradition, Akunin ponders the question: is Russia doomed?

Details: Opinions

Sergei Davidis: “Repressions inside Russia Embolden the Putin Regime to Act More Aggressively Abroad”

Details: 05 September 2019; Olga Khvostunova

According to the Memorial Human Rights Center, there are 313* political prisoners in Russia today—a record number in recent decades. How does one become a political prisoner? What do the cases of political persecution say about Vladimir Putin’s regime? Memorial council member and head of its political prisoners program Sergei Davidis discusses these and other questions in an interview with IMR’s Olga Khvostunova.

Details: Analysis

How Putin’s Russia Works

Details: 16 August 2019; Olga Khvostunova

In his most recent book Anders Aslund details the current state of affairs in Putin’s Russia and provides an overview of the system that he defines as “crony capitalism.” The book serves as a good primer of the subject, offering a useful meta-analysis and integrating points.

Details: Analysis

Why Russia Needs a “Sovereign Runet”

Details: 25 July 2019; Diana Rossokhovatsky, Olga Khvostunova

The official goal of the “sovereign internet” bill signed by Vladimir Putin into law on May 1 is to secure the uninterrupted operation of the Runet in case of disconnection from the global infrastructure of the World Wide Web. In reality, this law allows the Russian government to gain centralized control over the Runet and, if need be, to shut down internet services in entire regions of the country.

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