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What Putin forgot to mention in his latest article

Details: 28 July 2021; Ekaterina Mishina

Vladimir Putin’s article “On the Historic Unity of Russians and Ukrainians”, which was published on the Kremlin’s website on July 12, triggered expert discussions not just in Russia, but far beyond the country as well. Free University professor Ekaterina Mishina also read the infamous article and highlighted a number of crucial factors of the Ukrainian constitutional development, which clearly escaped the Russian president’s attention.

Details: Opinions

Putin’s article as a manifesto against Ukraine’s sovereignty

Details: 22 July 2021; Mykola Vorobiov

On July 12, an article by Vladimir Putin titled “On the historic unity of Russians and Ukrainians” was published on the Kremlin’s website. According to Mykola Vorobiov, Ukrainian journalist and Johns Hopkins University research scholar, this article not only highlights Putin’s territorial claims to Ukraine and neighboring countries, but also presents a serious challenge to the entire Western world.

Details: Analysis

Bard College declared “undesirable” in Russia. What now?

Details: 15 July 2021; Liya Wizevich

On June 21, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office recognized Bard College as an “undesirable” organization, making it the first education institution to be blacklisted in the country. With the further stiffening of the existing “undesirables” law and the Putin regime’s overall aversion to foreign influence, the precedent is set for targeting other Western educational institutions in the future.

Details: Analysis

How the U.S. and Russian constitutions were changed

Details: 08 July 2021; Ekaterina Mishina

July 4 marked one year since Russia amended its Constitution in the most ambitious change to the country’s Basic Law since its adoption. Free University professor Ekaterina Mishina conducts a comparative analysis of the history of constitutional amendments in the United States and Russia, highlighting their opposite nature: if the U.S. amendments were aimed at expanding citizens’ rights and clarifying the competencies of state bodies, the Russian amendments only strengthened the power of the president.

Details: Human Rights

June-2021: Purges of the opposition, Hizb ut-Tahrir, the “palace case”

Details: 08 July 2021; Diana Fishman

In June, the Russian authorities focused on purging the political space ahead of the September elections: Criminal cases were opened against oppositionists Maxim Reznik, Ketevan Kharaidze, and Dmitry Gudkov. New guilty verdicts were given to participants in the January protests in support of Navalny and against the arbitrariness of the authorities. Persecution of Muslims associated with the Hizb ut-Tahrir party—an organization recognized as terrorist in Russia—continued in the regions.

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