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The Kremlin Tries to Roll Back the “Shale Revolution”

Details: 01 August 2013; Donald N. Jensen

The much-discussed “shale revolution” threatens to weaken Russia’s regime, which has grown dependent on traditional energy exports. Donald N. Jensen, Resident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, suggests that the Kremlin has finally noticed this phenomenon—but has so far done little to prepare for it.

Details: Politics

Elections in Moscow: Why a Boycott Is Counterproductive

Details: 31 July 2013; Vladimir Kara-Murza

On September 8, Moscow will hold its mayoral election. Six candidates are vying for the post, but only two can be considered serious contenders: the incumbent, Sergei Sobyanin, and anticorruption campaigner Alexei Navalny. As in previous years, a part of the opposition is calling for a boycott of the vote. IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza suggests that this tactic is both misguided and counterproductive.

Details: Nation

Russian Corruption on Transparency International’s Barometer

Details: 30 July 2013; Boris Bruk

Every year Transparency International issues the Corruption Perceptions Index, which currently ranks Russia 133rd out of 176 countries in terms of how corrupt its public sector is perceived to be. To complement this portrait of world corruption, the organization also develops a study entitled The Global Corruption Barometer. IMR Advisor Boris Bruk discusses the latest report.

Details: Politics

The Navalny Trial: A Verdict for the Regime

Details: 29 July 2013; Tatiana Stanovaya

July 18, 2013—conviction day for Russian nonsystemic opposition leader Alexei Navalny—has been called the point of no return in the course of deteriorating relations between the authorities and society. This decision provoked the first unauthorized mass spontaneous protest in Putin’s Russia in downtown Moscow, with thousands of people coming out into the central streets of the capital. Political scientist Tatyana Stanovaya examines the political consequences of the Kirov court’s decision.

Details: Law

Let’s Say “No” to the Erosion of the Constitution

Details: 28 July 2013; Ekaterina Mishina

Russia’s leading legal experts have published an open address in which they detail the threats to the country’s constitutional order. IMR Advisor Ekaterina Mishina, a co-signatory of the address, emphasizes that, for the lawyers, to point out the dangers of the current situation is a professional, civic, and human duty.

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