Politics
A close look at the inner workings of authoritarian power in Russia and beyond, and the forces that could one day transform it: how the Kremlin holds and wields power, why the democratic opposition endures, and what a genuine political renewal would take
Beyond archaic: Putin’s obsolete “strategy” of national insecurity for Russia
On July 2nd, Putin signed an updated version of the "National Security Strategy of the Russian Federation." However, updated is only a technical term, merely characterizing the fact that the strategy is formally revised every six years (with the previous document adopted in 2015). By any other merit, the “strategy” is nothing less than completely outdated and offers a glimpse of a weird salad of conspiracies, prejudices and medieval worldviews that thrive in the minds of the Kremlin rulers.
The main culprits of the Environmental Crises of Russia’s Far East
The profound and longstanding negligence which characterize Moscow’s attitude toward the Far East as Russia's extractive colony and periphery is most clearly manifested in environmental disasters continuously ravishing the region.
When Putin Talks Climate
Speaking at a climate summit of the world leaders organized by the United States, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, for the first time in history, discussed environmental challenges the…
Putin’s War on Russia’s Youth
The events of the past few days have clearly demonstrated that Putin and his regime perceive Russia’s youth, especially its most active and politicized members, as the biggest…
What Putin Wants from Ukraine
Things are heating up on the Ukrainian border right now. To the casual observer, it might look like a repeat of what we saw in 2014. In fact,…
Putin’s Courts: the Methodical Destruction of the State’s Most Important Institution
On April 7, well-known Russian opposition politician and Council chairman, Ilya Yashin, a deputy of the Krasnoselsky municipal district, received an electronic notification that a court sentenced him…
Western Leaders Need to Take Tougher Stand Against Putin’s Modern Day “Fascism”
In 2021, Alexei Navalny, the main opponent of the unchanging head of state Vladimir Putin, is being tortured and unlawfully held in prison in Russia, a nuclear state…
Save Navalny, Stop Putin!
On March 31, it was reported that Aleksei Navalny, who is currently imprisoned in a penal colony, began a hunger strike to protest prison officials’ abuse and the…
The Arrest of One Governor and the True Worth of Putin’s Ratings
According to official Central Election Commission data, in September 2020, Ivan Belozertsev, member of the United Russia party nominated by Putin, won an amazing 78.8 percent of the…
Repression as the Essence of Putin’s Domestic Policy
For the past few years, the Russians have been living in an atmosphere of growing political repression. The more things soured for Putin domestically and internationally, the larger…