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Anders Åslund: “Sanction People Who Do Bad Things in Russia, Not Russians.”

Details: Opinions

Anders Åslund: “Sanction People Who Do Bad Things in Russia, Not Russians.”

Details: 23 January 2018; Olga Khvostunova

On January 29, the U.S. Treasury is set to submit the so-called “Kremlin Report,” a highly anticipated list of Russian individuals facing sanctions under Section 241 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The report is already causing anxiety in the Russian elite. Olga Khvostunova spoke with Anders Åslund, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, co-author of the report “How to Identify the Kremlin Ruling Elite and its Agents.”

Vadim Prokhorov: “Where Are the Organizers, Mr Putin? Did You Fail This Case?”

Details: Opinions

Vadim Prokhorov: “Where Are the Organizers, Mr Putin? Did You Fail This Case?”

Details: 14 December 2017; Olga Khvostunova

More than two and a half years passed since Boris Nemtsov’s murder, one of the highest profile political assassinations of the 21st century, but the masterminds and the organizers of this crime remain at large. Vadim Prokhorov, lawyer for Zhanna Nemtsova, argues that the legal mechanisms inside Russia are not working to fully solve this crime, which means that the next step is to draw international attention to the case. In the interview with Olga Khvostunova, editor-in-chief of imrussia.org, Prokhorov shared his insights on who is behind Nemtsov’s murder, what legal and political tools can be engaged to push the investigation forward, and which of the Western leaders are prepared to turn a blind eye to the regime’s crimes for the sake of realpolitik..

Vladimir Pastukhov: “The Fate of Future Generations Is Being Tossed into the Furnace of Today’s ‘Stability.’”

Details: Opinions

Vladimir Pastukhov: “The Fate of Future Generations Is Being Tossed into the Furnace of Today’s ‘Stability.’”

Details: 31 May 2017; Nathan Andrews

In an interview with Open Russia Vladimir Pastukhov, political scientist and honorary senior research associate at University College London, discusses the current state of Russian society, Vladimir Putin’s political perspectives, the possibilities of the government making catastrophic mistakes, and the goals of the opposition. Given its length, this interview is published in two parts. Today, we are releasing the second part; the first part is available here.

Vladimir Pastukhov: “It’s the Putin Regime that Will Spark a Revolution”

Details: Opinions

Vladimir Pastukhov: “It’s the Putin Regime that Will Spark a Revolution”

Details: 25 May 2017; Nathan Andrews

In an interview with Open Russia Vladimir Pastukhov, political scientist and honorary senior research associate at University College London, discusses the current state of Russian society, Vladimir Putin’s political perspectives, the possibilities of the government making catastrophic mistakes, and the goals of the opposition. Given its length, this interview will be published in two parts. The first part is available today, the second will appear next week.

Anatoly Vishnevsky: “The Main Conflict Of Our Age Is The One Between Modernity and Tradition.”

Details: Opinions

Anatoly Vishnevsky: “The Main Conflict Of Our Age Is The One Between Modernity and Tradition.”

Details: 04 February 2017; Denis Volkov

Denis Volkov, a sociologist at the Levada Center, talks with Anatoly Vishnevsky, Russia's leading demographer, director of the HSE Institute of Demography and editor-in-chief of the online publication “Demoscope Weekly”, about global demographic processes and their consequences such as the confrontation between traditional and modern society, the disintegration of the traditional family, the growing migrant crisis, issues of political modernization, and the Russian government’s pursuit of the utopia of the past.

Leon Aron: “Don’t Expect a New Détente Between Russia and the West”

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Opinions

Discussion

Leon Aron: “Don’t Expect a New Détente Between Russia and the West”

Details: 26 July 2016; Olga Khvostunova

The Institute of Modern Russia continues its series of interviews with experts on the political situation in Russia, its relations with the West, and the future of the country’s political system. Olga Khvostunova, editor-in-chief of imrussia.org, spoke with Dr. Leon Aron, director of Russian studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), about the Putin regime’s domestic imperatives, reasons behind the cooling of relations between Russia and the West, and the “pie in the sky” dream of American presidents.

Who is to blame for what happened to the Russian Constitution, and What do we do about it now?

Details: Opinions

Who is to blame for what happened to the Russian Constitution, and What do we do about it now?

Details: 17 December 2015; Mikhail Khodorkovsky

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, founder of the Open Russia movement, discusses why the Russian Constitution is “no more than a piece of paper—a sham symbol of federalism, freedom and democracy.”

Robert Orttung: ‘The Tension Is Going to Build Up in Russia Until You Have a Revolution’

Details: Opinions

Robert Orttung: ‘The Tension Is Going to Build Up in Russia Until You Have a Revolution’

Details: 18 November 2015; Ezekiel Pfeifer

As the Russian economy flounders due to the low price of oil, the possibility of social unrest has risen, leading Putin’s government to clench its grip on the media and the political system. But will its approach backfire as the tension builds? IMR analyst Ezekiel Pfeifer spoke with Dr. Robert Orttung, professor of international affairs at George Washington University, about the Kremlin propaganda machine, Putin’s sky-high approval rating, and the likelihood of revolutionary change in Russia.

Building a Viable Opposition

Details: Opinions

Building a Viable Opposition

Details: 19 October 2015; Reid Nelson

After the Russian opposition’s discouraging performance in the Kostroma regional election in September, activists have been asking themselves the question: What is the way forward? Their focus has been primarily on how to increase their vote totals, but according to Reid Nelson, the opposition first needs to formulate a long-term development strategy and ancillary goals for elections, which will help it to establish a well-functioning organization—and, eventually, to gain power.

Timur Kuran: 'An Atmosphere of Repression Leads to Preference Falsification Among Opinion Leaders'

Details: Opinions

Timur Kuran: 'An Atmosphere of Repression Leads to Preference Falsification Among Opinion Leaders'

Details: 14 October 2015; Denis Volkov

The phenomenon of Vladimir Putin’s sky-high approval rating (over 80 percent) is widely discussed by social scientists. One argument holds that this number is inaccurate and that pollsters are at fault. Levada Center sociologist Denis Volkov spoke to Timur Kuran, a prominent social thinker and a professor of economics and political science at Duke University, about the concept of “preference falsification,” which helps explain the high approval ratings attained by leaders of repressive regimes.

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