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Russia’s Hooligan Soccer Fans, Khodorkovsky’s Plan for Post-Putin Russia, and the Anti-Magnitsky Campaign

June 11–17

Details: 17 June 2016

In this week’s Russian media highlights, Sergei Medvedev argues in Forbes.ru that the hooligan behavior of Russian soccer fans in many ways represents “the official policies and the collective consciousness of post-Crimea Russia.” And in an interview with Slon.ru, Mikhail Khodorkovsky discusses his plan to bring Russia back onto the democratic path. Meanwhile, in the Western media, experts discuss the Russian brain drain, the European Union’s sanctions policy, and the Kremlin’s smear campaign aimed at repealing the Magnitsky Act.

Details: News

Experts Highlight Crucial Role of International Observers at Russia’s Upcoming Parliamentary Elections

Details: 15 June 2016

On June 9, at the Atlantic Council headquarters, the Institute of Modern Russia, the Atlantic Council, and Free Russia held a panel discussion on the prospects for Russia’s 2016 parliamentary election. Vladimir Kara-Murza, Pavel Khodorkovsky, John Herbst, Miriam Lanskoy, and Steven Lee Myers discussed the vote, the opposition’s plans, and the international community’s role in ensuring free and fair elections.

Details: Media Must-Reads

America’s Old Habits on Russia, Putin’s Subversion of History, and Russia’s Cognitive Dissonance

June 4–10

Details: 10 June 2016

In this week’s Western media highlights, Thomas Graham criticizes in the National Interest existing attitudes in Washington regarding the U.S.-Russia relationship and suggests policymakers develop a new grand strategy for Russia. In the American Interest, Andrew Foxall dissects the Kremlin’s recent attempts to manipulate history to justify its policies. Meanwhile, in the Russian media, Vladimir Inozemtsev provides his plan for economic reform in Russia, and Alexander Auzan argues that the country’s democratic transition can only be successful if the public and elites reach consensus on the terms of the much-needed change.

Details: Media Must-Reads

The Rise of the Russian Nationalism, the Secret of Putin’s Survival, and the Return of Stalin

May 28–June 3

Details: 03 June 2016

In this week’s Western media highlights, Richard Arnold discusses in The Washington Post the results of a new study of Russian nationalism, arguing that the Kremlin’s embrace of imperial nationalism poses a threat to the regime in the future. In the Russian media, Andrei Baunov, in his article for Carnegie.ru, compares the Greek and Russian Orthodoxy and their respective links to Russian politics. And professor Ivan Kurilla argues in RBC that in Russia, history has become “the language of politics.”

Details: Economics

Sergey Aleksashenko: No Good News for Russia’s Federal Budget, But the Government’s in No Hurry

Details: 26 May 2016; Sergey Aleksashenko

In his latest commentary about recent events in the Russian economy, Sergey Aleksashenko, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, analyzes the prospects for economic reform in Russia, implementation of the federal budget, and oil price cycles.

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