Home - Institute of Modern Russia

Andrei Pivovarov: the Victim of Kostroma

Details: 25 September 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

Russia’s liberal opposition knew the chips were stacked against it in recent elections in the conservative Kostroma region. What opposition leaders did not expect was that their campaign manager and fellow politician Andrei Pivovarov would be suddenly arrested on trumped-up charges. In the latest installment of its ongoing series profiling Russia’s political prisoners, IMR examines Pivovarov’s case.

Details: Media Must-Reads

Putin’s Plan in Syria, the Kashin Case, and Kadyrov’s Murderous Regime

19–25 September 2015

Details: 25 September 2015

In this week’s media highlights, Mitchell Orenstein writes in Foreign Affairs that the U.S. must be on guard when negotiating with Russia on Syria and Ukraine. Also, Andrew Roth of The Washington Post interviews Russian journalist Oleg Kashin five years after the brutal attack that nearly killed him.

Details: World

Protests in Moldova: Dignity and Truth vs. Euro-Imitators

Details: 23 September 2015; Vladimir Solovyev

In early September, a group in Moldova called Dignity and Truth led a protest of several thousand supporters of Euro-integration against the country’s ostensibly pro-Europe government. In the opinion of journalist Vladimir Solovyev, the protesters might be able to force early elections, but the true winners of the confrontation could end up being pro-Russian political forces.

Details: Law

Constitutionalism vs. the ‘Russian Matrix.’ Part 1

Details: 22 September 2015; Vladimir Pastukhov

In the West, it is taken for granted that a nation needs a constitution in order to function. But Russia, in many ways, lives more by social codes than by the country’s Constitution. Does the country even need a constitution? If so, what can be done to make it work more effectively? Political scientist Vladimir Pastukhov, who holds a doctorate in political science and is a visiting fellow at St. Antony’s College of Oxford University, takes an in-depth look at Russian constitutionalism in part one of a periodic series.

Details: World

Crisis in Emerging Markets: Is Russia Better Off Than Brazil?

Details: 21 September 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

The BRIC nations have lost some of their luster recently, due to the crash in commodity prices and chronic low demand in the West. How does the economic situation in Russia compare to that in Brazil, India and China? In part one of a three-part series, IMR analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer compares Russia to Brazil, where the economy is strikingly similar to that of Russia but where the political system sets the country apart.

Our newsletter delivers a digest of analytical articles and op-eds published on our website, along with the latest updates on the IMR activities on a monthly basis.