Home - Institute of Modern Russia

The Bolotnaya “Justice”

Details: 20 August 2014; Dmitry Borko

On August 18, 2014, the Moscow City Court convicted four defendants in the “second wave” of the Bolotnaya Square case. Alexei Gaskarov and Alexander Margolin each received three and a half years in prison colonies; Ilya Gushchin received two and a half years of imprisonment; and Elena Kokhtareva, who pled guilty, was sentenced to three years and three months suspended. In a special article for IMR, social defender and journalist Dmitry Borko summarizes the results of this politically motivated criminal case.

Details: Nation

How to Oppose the Kremlin’s Propaganda

Details: 20 August 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

Since the beginning of 2014, the Kremlin’s campaign to put pressure on the country’s remaining independent media has picked up steam. The cancellation of the last relatively independent program on the Ren-TV channel, Week with Marianna Maksimovskaya, is the most recent example of this ongoing campaign. According to writer Alexander Podrabinek, the only way to oppose the Kremlin’s propaganda is by increasing access to alternative media and creating international TV channels that broadcast in the Russian language.

Details: Nation

The Resurrection of “Cosmopolitanism” and the Consolidation of the Russian Party

Details: 18 August 2014; Alexander Yanov

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of articles by well-known scholar Alexander Yanov on the history of Russian nationalism in the USSR. In this essay he writes about the consolidation of the right-wing opposition in its struggle against cosmopolitanism and its diminished enthusiasm as a result of the measures taken during the Brezhnev regime that followed.

Details: Opinions

Food Sanctions: Putin on Every Plate

Details: 14 August 2014; Olga Melnikova

Last week, the Russian government banned food imports from the United States, Canada, the European Union, Australia, and Norway. This initiative has split the already-divided Russian society into two warring camps. Olga Melnikova, a Moscow-based journalist, sums up the discussion currently unfolding in the Russian blogosphere.

Details: Law

Whose Feelings Did Marilyn Manson and Pussy Riot Hurt?

Details: 07 August 2014; Ekaterina Mishina

In late June, rock musician Marilyn Manson, known for his flamboyant onstage persona, was supposed to take part in a rock festival in Moscow. The concert, however, was canceled due to an alleged bomb threat. His second scheduled concert in Novosibirsk was canceled at the demand of Orthodox Christian activists. IMR advisor Ekaterina Mishina and Skyline High School (Ann Arbor, MI) junior Alice Nikitinskaya draw parallels between this incident and the Pussy Riot case.

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.