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Putin’s Ukrainian Roulette

Details: 17 May 2014; Tatiana Stanovaya

The unpredictability of Russian president Vladimir Putin has long worried the Western world. But the problem has become particularly evident in the context of the Ukrainian crisis, during which the official position of the Kremlin has changed repeatedly. Political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya speculates on Putin’s plans for Ukraine.

Details: Nation

Nationalism in Soviet Russia: The New Wave

Details: 16 May 2014; Alexander Yanov

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of articles by well-known historian Alexander Yanov dedicated to the history of Russian nationalism in the Soviet Union. In this essay, the author discusses the change of the cultural code in the 1960s and the revival of nationalism in Soviet Russia.

Details: Politics

Who is the Target of Kremlin Aggression?

Details: 15 May 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

Today’s Russia is witnessing a lamentable but inevitable convergence of domestic and external aggression. The country’s expansion into Ukraine is accompanied by the adoption of new, repressive laws and increasing police crackdown on the political opposition and civic activists within Russia. According to author and analyst Alexander Podrabinek, given this familiar trajectory, Russian society should expect a further “tightening of the screws,” while the international community should prepare for new military conflicts with Moscow.

Details: Politics

The Imaginarium of Vladimir Putin

Details: 13 May 2014; Tatiana Stanovaya

Speculation over the extent to which Russian president Vladimir Putin is disconnected from reality continues. In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal, U.S. secretary of state John Kerry declared that Putin “is creating his own reality, and his own sort of world, divorced from a lot of what’s real on the ground for all those people, including people in his own country.” The Russian leader’s unpredictability frightens the global community. This is why, according to political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya, it is important to understand what Vladimir Putin’s “own sort of world” looks like.

Details: World

Are the U.S. Sanctions against Russia Really “Smart”?

Details: 12 May 2014; Donald N. Jensen

On April 28, the United States imposed a new round of “smart” sanctions against Russian government officials and companies considered close to Vladimir Putin, including travel bans and asset freezes for seven Russian officials and asset freezes on seventeen Russian companies. According to Donald N. Jensen, resident fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, though, these sanctions are still unlikely to work without being included in a broader Western pushback campaign.

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