Society - Institute of Modern Russia

Putin’s Irony: How to Disable the Human Rights Council

Details: Nation

Putin’s Irony: How to Disable the Human Rights Council

Details: 28 November 2012

The reforms of the Presidential Human Rights Council initiated by Vladimir Putin have transformed it from a powerless but respected agency into a meaningless decoration along the lines of the Public Chamber. According to IMR analysts, the purpose of these reforms was to silence the last remaining independent voices in the government.

Roads to the Temple: A New Book by Leon Aron

Details: Nation

Roads to the Temple: A New Book by Leon Aron

Details: 15 November 2012

On November 13th, Leon Aron, Director of Russian Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, presented his new book, Roads to the Temple, at the Harriman Institute (Columbia University). The event was co-sponsored by the Institute of Modern Russia. In his work, Aron analyzed the period of glasnost and the reasons for the Soviet Union’s collapse. At the presentation, he discussed similarities between the protest movement of the late 1980s, and the present-day Russian opposition.

Meet Achimez Gochiyaev, "the Russian Osama bin Laden"

Details: Nation

Meet Achimez Gochiyaev, "the Russian Osama bin Laden"

Details: 14 November 2012

Here is an interview with Achimez Gochiyaev that took place on August 20, 2002. Before us is a man without a beard; behind him is a rug, not the flag of independent Ichkeria [the de facto secessionist republic in Chechnya]; there is no AK-47 leaning against the wall of the room where the recording is being made; in his hand is a pen. The interview was given to someone he “knew well” and recorded with a video camera. As proof of the tape’s existence I was sent the first minute of the video interview – and this is what we are showing to our viewers today.

E-Democracy: Citizens and the State

Details: Nation

E-Democracy: Citizens and the State

Details: 09 November 2012

The concept of “collaborative management” whereby citizens can directly participate in the decision-making process is increasingly the subject of discussion in the media and in academic literature. A key instrument of such participation is e-democracy. IMR analysts have assessed the tendencies in democratic countries and in Russia, where the “official” (imitative) e-democracy is being countered by the development of a civic alternative.

“Killing of Survivors” after Kaczynski Plane Crash: Can We Believe the Video?

Details: Nation

“Killing of Survivors” after Kaczynski Plane Crash: Can We Believe the Video?

Details: 07 November 2012

If the FSB can kidnap a person in Kiev just as the OGPU once did in Europe, it is not hard to believe that the surviving Poles could have been finished off by the descendants of the butchers of Katyn. If anyone has trouble countenancing such a suggestion, they can take a look at the conclusions reached by an independent examination conducted in the United States on April 26, 2012.

Freedom of Speech for Zhirinovsky!

Details: Nation

Freedom of Speech for Zhirinovsky!

Details: 02 November 2012

Our next clip features Vladimir Zhirinovsky's speech in the State Duma on September 17, 1999. On that day, Zhirinovsky was denied the right to speak because, in an emotional outburst and probably without meaning to do so, he revealed a state secret.

Putin's Ten Seconds

Details: Nation

Putin's Ten Seconds

Details: 29 October 2012

"I'll begin with my favorite video. This video became my favorite because, on this memorable State Security Agents' Day (or Day of the Chekist) in December 1999, a young, unknown, and therefore not fully understood Vladimir Putin, in a flight of almost childish enthusiasm and sincerity, publicly told us that the forces of the former KGB (now code-named "FSB" for the sake of secrecy) had taken over the Russian government."

Details: Nation

To the Viewers

Details: 29 October 2012

IMR website launches a new project: Felshtinsky's Video Blog. The Institute's Advisor, Yuri Felshtinsky, - a prominent Russian American historian and the co-author (together with Alexander Litvinenko) of the book "Blowing Up Russia" - will select and analyze the most interesting YouTube videos on Russian politics. The videos and commentaries will be published regularly. All our readers are welcome to join the discussion!

Russian Media in the Soviet Renaissance Era

Details: Nation

Russian Media in the Soviet Renaissance Era

Details: 12 October 2012

Within the last two weeks two prominent Russian journalists visited New York. One is Sergei Parkhomenko, former chief editor of Itogi magazine, currently the host of the "Sut' Sobyty" ("The Essence of Events") show on radio station Echo Moskvy. The other is Leonid Parfyonov, formerly the anchor of the program "Namedni" ("Recently") on NTV, now an independent filmmaker. The work of these two journalists has to a large extent shaped the landscape and the style of modern Russian journalism. The fact that neither is heading any of the major media outlets in the country is a sad commentary on the Putin era. The Kremlin-sanctioned attacks on the best editorial collectives were such dramatic events that they undermined, both institutionally and psychologically, the still fragile system of the Russian news media. Journalists were given a clear signal: the new regime would not tolerate criticism, dissent or disobedience.

"Russia Rising": 30 Graphic Designers Challenge Putin's Regime

Details: Nation

"Russia Rising": 30 Graphic Designers Challenge Putin's Regime

Details: 13 September 2012

"The current regime is openly disdainful of its constituents, and while it generally does not threaten their lives, it does assault their human dignity and their basic freedoms. Our hope is to help lend a well-pitched voice to the outcry," says Misha Beletsky, New York graphic designer, art director for Abbeville Press, and co-curator of the "Russia Rising: Votes for Freedom" exhibition. The showcase, responding to recent political turmoil in Russia through protest posters, will run in New York September 4th through 22nd at the School of Visual Arts' Westside Gallery, 141 West 21 Street.

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