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Romes Old and New

Details: 05 December 2013; Donald N. Jensen

On November 25, Pope Francis held a thirty-five-minute private meeting in Rome with Russian President Vladimir Putin. According to Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, the Kremlin’s and the Orthodox Church’s attempts to improve relationship with Vatican are a part of Russia’s strategy to demonstrate that Moscow can provide an alternative to Washington.

Details: Politics

Russia: Ten Years Without a Parliament

Details: 05 December 2013; Vladimir Kara-Murza

On December 7, 2003, Russia held parliamentary elections that were, for the first time in the country’s post-Soviet history, assessed as not conforming to democratic standards. The liberal opposition was thrown out of Parliament, and the Duma, in the words of its own speaker, became “not a place for discussion.” IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza, a candidate in the 2003 elections, notes the catastrophic fall in standing of Russia’s legislative branch of government over the past decade.

Details: Nation

“Going to That Demonstration Was a Selfish Move: I Wanted to Have a Clean Conscience”: Natalia Gorbanevskaya in Her Own Words

Details: 04 December 2013

On December 4, Natalia Gorbanevskaya was read her last rites at the Russian Orthodox Church of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary in the Temple and buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Gorbanevskaya—poet, translator, human rights activist, first editor of the Chronicle of Current Events, participant in the August 1968 Red Square demonstration—died on November 29 at the age of 77. In 2005, she took part in the filming of Vladimir Kara-Murza’s documentary film They Chose Freedom. Below are excerpts from her interview.

Details: Nation

The “Enlightened Nationalism” of Lev Gumilev

Details: 02 December 2013; Alexander Yanov

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of articles by Alexander Yanov on the history of Russian nationalism. This installment is dedicated to the teaching of Lev Gumilev, a prominent Russian historian who has been proclaimed the founder of the “integration” of the Eurasian space by the current Russian authorities.

Details: Nation

Natalia Gorbanevskaya, 1936-2013

Details: 29 November 2013

On November 29, Natalia Gorbanevskaya—poet, translator, human rights activist and participant of the 1968 Red Square demonstration—died in Paris. She died in her sleep. She was 77.

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