Society - Institute of Modern Russia

Violated Rights: the 2013 World Report by Human Rights Watch

Details: Nation

Violated Rights: the 2013 World Report by Human Rights Watch

Details: 07 February 2013; Boris Bruk

Human Rights Watch has presented its 23rd annual World Report. The 665-page document assesses the situation in more than 90 countries. IMR Analyst Boris Bruk notes the increasing pessimism of human rights activists with the return of Vladimir Putin to the Russian presidency.

2013 Summer Institute at Columbia University to Study Russian-Speaking Diaspora

Details: Nation

2013 Summer Institute at Columbia University to Study Russian-Speaking Diaspora

Details: 05 February 2013

On June 9-29, 2013, Columbia University will host a three-week institute entitled “America’s Russian-Speaking Immigrants and Refugees: 20th Century Migration and Memory,” sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The institute welcomes college and university teachers and independent scholars to apply to this special program designed to enrich their understanding of the four waves of Russian-speaking immigration to the United States.

Corruption in Russia as a Business

Details: Nation

Corruption in Russia as a Business

Details: 29 January 2013; Alexandra Kalinina

Transparency International has ranked Russia 133rd in its recently-published 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index. The previous year, Russia was ranked 143rd. Is this improvement a result of effective anticorruption measures by the Russian government, or just a different methodology of calculation? According to economist Alexandra Kalinina, despite the improved score, corruption in Russia remains “not a problem, but a business.”

Yuri Shevchuk: “I Would Welcome a Spiritual Revolution in Russia”

Details: Nation

Yuri Shevchuk: “I Would Welcome a Spiritual Revolution in Russia”

Details: 23 January 2013

On January 16, Yuri Shevchuk, the lead singer for the Russian rock band DDT, met with the press and his New York fans at the Brooklyn Public Library. Shevchuk spoke about his American tour and discussed the current political situation in Russia.

Expelled from the “Kingdom of Democracy”

Details: Nation

Expelled from the “Kingdom of Democracy”

Details: 22 January 2013; Boris Bruk

Russia has long featured in international democracy rankings alongside authoritarian countries of the Third World. The latest Kremlin initiatives directed against NGOs only serve to underscore this similarity. As IMR analyst Boris Bruk argues, however, pressure on civil society offers no guarantees of the preservation of power.

Yuri Schmidt (1937–2013)

Details: Nation

Yuri Schmidt (1937–2013)

Details: 14 January 2013

Eminent Russian lawyer Yuri Markovich Schmidt has died in St. Petersburg at the age of 75. “A lawyer by profession and a defender of human rights by fiat of conscience,” was how legendary dissident Vladimir Bukovsky referred to him. Schmidt was involved with the human rights movement since the 1960s. Those whom he represented in courts in the 1990s and 2000s included Alexander Nikitin and the families of Galina Starovoitova and Sergei Yushenkov. Since 2004, Schmidt represented Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The farewell ceremony for Yuri Schmidt will take place between 11am and 1pm on January 16 at the House of Architect in St. Petersburg (52, Bolshaya Morskaya Street.)

Between Pass and Fail (A Historian’s Perspective)

Details: Nation

Between Pass and Fail (A Historian’s Perspective)

Details: 04 January 2013; Alexander Yanov

In his recent state-of-the-nation address, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that only those countries which prevail in the battle for the intellect will survive the global competition. However, according to historian and IMR Advisor Alexander Yanov, the Russian leader’s own intellectual level does not leave the country under his rule a serious chance for success.

A Life of Integrity: Vladimir Bukovsky at 70

Details: Nation

A Life of Integrity: Vladimir Bukovsky at 70

Details: 28 December 2012; Vladimir Kara-Murza

On December 30, Vladimir Bukovsky – writer, scientist, human rights campaigner, and one of the founders of the dissident movement in the USSR – will celebrate his 70th birthday. IMR Senior Policy Advisor Vladimir Kara-Murza recalls the milestones in Bukovsky’s life – and urges the present-day Russian opposition to heed his advice.

Thinking “Out of the Box”

Details: Nation

Thinking “Out of the Box”

Details: 18 December 2012; Alexander Yanov

The grave consequences of a direct confrontation with the authorities and the unlikelihood of victory in today’s managed “elections” do not mean that Russia’s opposition has no chance of success. According to historian and IMR Advisor Alexander Yanov, Kremlin critics must think “out of the box” and make use of international structures.

"Primakov's List" and Berezovsky's Apartment

Details: Nation

"Primakov's List" and Berezovsky's Apartment

Details: 09 December 2012

The only alternative candidate to today's president of Russia, Vladimir Putin, was the former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Yevgeny Primakov. I have always believed that in the choice between Putin and Primakov, Primakov should have been considered the lesser of two evils.

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