The article about Boris Kolesnikov (depicted above), deputy head of the Russian Interior Ministry’s anti-corruption department, is one of this week’s most compelling stories. Photo: TASS.
Omsk Tragedy Shows Russia’s Defense Weakness
Alexander Golts, The Moscow Times
The collapse of military barracks that killed 24 soldiers near Omsk is a direct consequence of systemic corruption in Russia’s Defense Ministry, writes commentator Alexander Golts. But existing efforts to battle corruption will remain ineffective so long as regional officials remain self-serving.
The Double Sting: A Power Struggle Between Russia’s Rival Security Agencies
Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker
Yaffa tells the story of the rise and fall of Boris Kolesnikov, the deputy head of the Russian Interior Ministry’s anti-corruption department, whose ambitious career of fighting crime was ended by a high-stakes collision with the FSB.
Inside the Secret World of Russia’s Cold War Mapmakers
Greg Miller, Wired
For John Davies, a cartographic hobby turned into a remarkable revelation about the level of detail that went into Soviet maps. These maps that were once labeled “secret” give insight into the Soviet Union’s master plans.
We’re All Putin’s ‘Useful Idiots’
Peter Pomerantsev, Politico
Western media groups have begun using comparisons to the Cold War to describe current U.S.-Russian relations. Pomerantsev suggests that these parallels are helping Putin’s cause of trying to create “an equal sized ‘other’ to the West.”
Russia’s Scientists Fall Silent
Harley D. Balzer, The New York Times
Instead of expressing outrage, Russian academics have chosen not to protest the shrinking opportunities for cooperation between Western NGOs and Russian scientists. Why are foreign organizations increasingly seen as a threat rather than a boon to progress in Russia?
Russia’s Rising Military: Should the U.S. Send More Nuclear Weapons to Europe?
Steven Pifer, The National Interest
As Russia ramps up its defense capabilities and uses increasingly aggressive rhetoric, Pifer looks at NATO’s options for responding and considers whether deploying U.S. nuclear weapons would advance or damage the Western alliance’s military strategy.
This week’s roundup was compiled by Alexandra Moon and Cyrus Newlin.
