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Savchenko’s Release, Reforms Without Time, and Why Russian People Never Smile

21–27 May

Details: 27 May 2016

In this week’s Russian media highlights, commentator Tatiana Stanovaya argues in Carnegie.ru that Putin released the Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko hoping to improve Russia’s relationship with the West, even though the exchange was a bad option for the Kremlin. And political scientist Alexander Rubtsov argues in Vedomosti that the current discussion of reform in Russia lacks a number of crucial components, such as “when” and “how.” In the Western media, professor Timothy Frye in Foreign Affairs offers an explanation for why Western experts tend to misunderstand Russian politics today. And in the Atlantic, Olga Khazan reports on a study that could shed some light on Russians’ dislike of smiling faces.

Details: News

Russia’s Election Countdown

Details: 25 May 2016

Please join the Atlantic Council, the Institute of Modern Russia and Free Russia Foundation on Thursday, June 9, 2016, from 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the Atlantic Council headquarters for a panel discussion on the prospects for Russia’s 2016 parliamentary vote, the opposition’s plans, and the international community’s role in ensuring free and fair elections.

Details: Law

The Hamlet Question: Autocracy or Federation? Part 1

Details: 19 May 2016; Vladimir Pastukhov

The Institute of Modern Russia continues the discussion on the issues of Russian constitutionalism. Political scientist Vladimir Pastukhov explains why Russia’s unitary structure leaves it an autocratic empire, and why a federation would permit it to become a nation-state with functioning authority.

Details: Media Must-Reads

Russian Politics Under Putin, The Kremlin’s Candidate, and the Chernobyl Anniversary

23–29 April

Details: 29 April 2016

In this week’s media highlights, Gleb Pavlovsky in Foreign Affairs reveals the key mechanisms of the Russian political system under Putin’s rule. And in Politico, Michael Crowley writes that the Kremlin has apparently picked its candidate in the current U.S. presidential campaign—Donald Trump. Meanwhile, in the Russian media, analysts discuss the possibility of Russia’s democratic transition and the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.

Details: Economics

Sergey Aleksashenko: There Will Be No Reforms

Details: 28 April 2016; Sergey Aleksashenko

In his latest article on key developments impacting the Russian economy, Sergey Aleksashenko, nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and former deputy chairman of the Central Bank of Russia, analyzes the latest official data and public statements, as well as manifestations of the ongoing economic crisis.

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