(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – John Freedman – July 14, 2014) Is this an updated version of Aldous Huxley’s classic antiutopian novel, “Brave New World”? Not exactly. If you live in Russia, this will be your world by September 1, according to a blog, “A Guide Through Your Life: What the Duma Has Banned in Recent Months,” published last week […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 10, 2014) Russian public opinion “is being prepared for a change in Kremlin policy” toward Ukraine, Moscow commentators say, with central government media now downplaying the need for and utility of force and playing up the ways in which Vladimir Putin can serve as “peacemaker.” But this shift in tone, which […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 8, 2014) Both those Russians who continue to press Vladimir Putin to intervene militarily in eastern Ukraine and those who say that his policies in Ukraine have been a disaster are increasingly reviving an old Russian metaphor that cannot be encouraging to the current incumbent of the Kremlin. Ever since Nicholas […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Pavel Chikov – July 3, 2014) Pavel Chikov is chair of AGORA, an association of human rights organisations based in Kazan. Agora, founded in 2005, provides legal advocacy for victims of suspected human rights abuses, in particular for journalists, political activists and NGOs. Since 1999 Chikov has been a leading human rights lawyer and head of a number […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, July 4, 2014) That Putin has intervened in Ukraine at least in part to overcome the political challenges he faced in 2011-2012 and that he has made Russian more authoritarian in the process is largely common ground. But a new book gives remarkable details about these links and these trends and suggests […]
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(Paul Goble – Staunton, July 5, 2014) “Putin’s Russia has already long been a Reich” much like Hitler’s Germany, but ordinary Russians now, like ordinary Germans 75 years ago, have not taken note of the fact because so far the state’s repressive attentions have not been directed primarily at them, according to Vitaly Portnikov. Portnikov, a Ukrainian commentator who earlier […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – July 4, 2014) President Vladimir Putin signaled a switch Thursday from the government’s previous youth policy of aggressive political groups toward a more traditional approach to instilling patriotism. “We need to give young people more knowledge about Russia’s historical, cultural and natural riches back in school,” Putin said. “This is, perhaps, the […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 30, 2014) Olga Kryshtanovskaya, head of the Center for the Study of Elites at the Academy of Sciences Institute of Sociology and Russia’s most distinguished student of elites and their rotation, says that “Putin’s successor is already in his closest entourage” and that Putin may even decide who it will be. […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Evgenia Pismennaya, Henry Meyer, Brad Cook – June 27, 2014) One month he wins the Olympics and kudos from world leaders. The next he grabs Crimea and gets kicked out of their most exclusive club. Now he’s facing a recession with few tools to fight it save the public’s love. Even Vladimir Putin, in his 15th […]
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(Interfax – June 26, 2014) A record growth of the approval rating of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his political course continues, sociologists said. The approval rating of President Putin stood at 86 percent in June, Levada Center told Interfax. The approval rating of the president grew 3 percent from 83 percet in May and 20 percet from 65 percent […]
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(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov – June 26, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin’s popularity continued to rise near its 2008 peak this month amid the unrest in neighboring Ukraine, Moscow-based polling company Levada Center said in a statement. The Russian leader’s approval rating is 86 percent, up from 65 percent in January and compared with the highest-ever 88 percent […]
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[“No more little green men? Putin takes military option in Ukraine off table” – Christian Science Monitor – Fred Weir- June 24, 2014] The Christian Science Monitor covers Russia’s legislative move to formerly rescind an authorization for additional military intervention in Ukraine. Almost four months after Russia’s upper house of parliament granted Vladimir Putin blanket permission to use military force in Ukraine, […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 23, 2014) Public support for Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine is broad but not deep and is likely to dissipate quickly rather than become the basis by itself for any new imperial adventures, accordin to Lev Gudkov, the head of the independent Levada Analytic Center. In the course of a long […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 22, 2014) With the occupation of Crimea and with the encouragement of the Kremlin, many Russians believe they are on their way to becoming a super power once again, but the most thoughtful among them recognize that Russia lacks two if not three of the elements a super power must have. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 23, 2014) While a majority of Russians feel a sense of outrage toward transsexuals, most could not care less about nudists, a somewhat questionable poll concludes. The poll, published Monday by independent pollster Levada Center – presumably testing Russians’ attitudes to non-traditional behavior – showed roughly equal numbers of Russians feel indignation toward transsexuals […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – June 23, 2014) Could you be happy living somewhere where temperatures drop below 50 degrees Celsius in the nine-month-long winters? It seems hard to imagine, but the residents of Siberia’s Yakutia in the heart of the Asian part of Russia – the coldest place in the world – seem […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 18, 2014) Responding to suggestions that the possibilities for the promotion of an “enlightened” Russian nationalism” have been undermined by Vladimir Putin’s policies in Ukraine, Aleksandr Khramov says that the real problems lie with Russian liberals who behave in ways that alienate the population and make cooperation with nationalists almost impossible. […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Marina Obrazkova, RBTH- June 18, 2014) Russia is reorganizing the system for electing local government bodies and redistributing powers between federal and municipal authorities. However, the reforms are the latest in a long line of attempts to make regional government more effective, and some experts are sceptical. A reform is under way in […]
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MOSCOW. June 17 (Interfax) – Over a half of Russians (57%) believes Russia needs political opposition, Levada Center told Interfax. Yet their number has reduced significantly since 2012 (72%), the sociologists said. Twenty-three percent of respondents say Russia does not need political opposition and 20% are undecided. The need for opposition was mostly expressed by men (62% vs. 53% of […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 16, 2014) In what might seem counter-intuitive but which in fact underscores the way Moscow media coverage of one thing may cause Russians to draw conclusions about others, 58 percent of Russians say that as a result of developments in Ukraine, they are more negative about nationalist groups in their own […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 16, 2014) The Russian authorities have unleashed and are conducting a war in Ukraine, “a new type of war without declaration or a front line” and one that is simultaneously “destroying all official Soviet and post-Soviet myths and clarifying the real nature of the political regime in Russia,” according to Igor […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – June 12, 2014 Nikolai Litovkin, RBTH – June 12, 2014) On June 12, Russia celebrates one of its youngest national holidays, Russia Day. Nominally a celebration of Russian statehood, the significance of the day is widely misunderstood, even within the country itself. What is the history of the holiday and how do Russians […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Denis Volkov, special to RBTH – June 9, 2014) Denis Volkov is a sociologist with Levada Center. The analysis is based on data provided by the independent pollster Levada Center. A recent opinion poll by the Levada Center indicates that amid tensions over Ukraine and the takeover of Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 11, 2014) Even as Vladimir Putin pursues what many see as an effort to restore an empire centered on Moscow, polls show that ever fewer Russians regret the end of the Soviet Union – something the Kremlin leader has said was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century – and […]
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(Interfax – June 10, 2014) The Kremlin has distanced itself from statements by presidential adviser Sergey Glazyev, which he made at a roundtable discussion on the Ukrainian crisis in Moscow on Tuesday 10 June, the Russian Interfax news agency reported on 10 June. A senior source in the Kremlin once again stressed that “all thoughts and suggestions of Sergey Glazyev […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 10, 2014) Russia’s Justice Ministry has added five nongovernmental organizations to its list of “foreign agents” just days after President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing organizations to labeled as such without their consent. An official statement on the ministry’s website said the decision was made based on “court decisions confirming that the organizations […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, June 9, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin has not voiced his preferences and has not specified whether he supports the idea of renaming Volgograd Stalingrad or stands for keeping its name, presidential spokesman Dmitriy Peskov has said. “Answering a question from veterans in Normandy, Putin said that changing the name of a city or a settlement is […]
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MOSCOW. June 9 (Interfax) – The Golos (Voice) association said it intended to contest in court the fact that the Russian Justice Ministry included it on the registry of non-governmental organizations (NGO) – foreign agents. “This will not affect our work in any way. The association is in the process of liquidating itself. As to the regional organization, it has […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – June 9, 2014) More than 1,000 candidates participated in the Moscow City Duma’s first ever nonbinding primaries on Sunday. The results of Sunday’s poll will have no effect on the Moscow City Duma election, which will be held on Sept. 14. Muscovites were invited to cast their ballots in one of the […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, June 5, 2014) Having seen his original social compact with the Russian population become shaky – deference to his unrestricted power in exchange for a guarantee of rising incomes – Vladimir Putin has assembled a new majority, according to Igor Bunin, head of the Moscow Center for Political Technologies. The wave of […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – June 5, 2014) Citizens unhappy with all available candidates for city office can now let their discontent be known by ticking off the “against all” option when casting ballots for municipal elections in accordance with a new law signed by President Vladimir Putin. A bill pushing for a return of the “against all” option, which […]
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SOCHI. June 5 (Interfax) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has disagreed with suggestions alleging the existence of the “Putin regime”, adding that Russia has standard democratic institutions, which, however, have their own specifics and traditions. “The current regime is not connected to any particular person, including the incumbent President. We have common democratic state institutions, although they reflect Russia’s needs,” […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Mikhail Sokolov, Claire Bigg – June 3, 2014) Russian President Vladimir Putin is enjoying almost unprecedented job-approval ratings in his country. And the only reason for this popularity surge, sociologists say, is Russia’s tough stance on Ukraine. “A fierce anti-Ukrainian campaign was launched,” says leading sociologist Lev Gudkov, the head of Russia’s independent Levada polling center. “Authorities have used the […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, May 28, 2014) The share of Russians who are “skeptical” about the value of political parties for themselves and their country is opening the way for a return to a one party system, in some ways resembling the one that existed in Soviet times, according to a Moscow commentator. In a Rosbalt.ru […]
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MOSCOW, May 29 (RIA Novosti) – The popularity of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev among Russians continues to grow, according to data released Thursday by the independent pollster Levada-Center. “Vladimir Putin’s public approval rating continues to grow, reaching its peak in the last four years,” an appendix to the survey reads. Eighty-three percent of respondents said […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, May 28, 2014) The Federation Council [Russia’s upper chamber of parliament] has approved a draft law giving the Justice Ministry authority to include a noncommercial organization [the usual Russian phrase for what is referred to elsewhere as NGOs] on the register of foreign agents, even if that same NGO has not applied for inclusion on the register. […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, May 28, 2014) Russians are now far more concerned about defending what they have than in getting something better, Lev Gudkov says. Consequently, if the Kremlin does try to take away something the majority thinks is rightfully theirs, such a step would almost certainly put the survival of the current regime at […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – May 27, 2014) Once the darling of Russia’s opposition movement, Alexei Navalny has seen his reputation fall in recent months as he has made more headlines for the criminal cases launched against him than for his political activities. The number of Russians who have “nothing good to say about him,” increased from […]
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(Moscow Times – Christopher Brennan – May 22, 2014) In an unexpected move, Moscow authorities have reportedly approved a request by controversial political party The Other Russia to hold a freedom-of-assembly rally in the city center this month. Party member Alexander Averin announced via his LiveJournal page on Wednesday that city officials had sanctioned a “Strategy 31” event that the […]
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(opendemocracy.net – Kristina Silvan – May 8, 2014) Kristina Silvan is a 5th year Finnish undergraduate student from the University of Glasgow Every year the Seliger All-Russia Youth Forum brings together tens of thousands of engaged young Russians for a week of edification in an idyllic natural setting. Its goal is to promote patriotism in Russia’s future elites – and […]
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(RFE/RL – rferl.org – May 13, 2014) In a tacit admission that the situation in the North Caucasus differs radically from that elsewhere in the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin has made a series of personnel appointments clearly intended to strengthen Moscow’s control over developments there. Putin has dismissed Aleksandr Khloponin, whom then-President Dmitry Medvedev had appointed in January 2010 to head the new […]
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MOSCOW. May 14 (Interfax) – Head of the Russian Presidential Human Rights Council Mikhail Fedotov said he intended to propose to include a provision in the Criminal Code on liability for pursuit over criticism. “The Soviet Code used to have such an article. Now we have proposed adding it again, however this idea has not been supported. Nevertheless, we will […]
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Moscow, 13 May: Moscow Gay Pride activists have notified the Moscow mayor’s office that they will stage a “Conchita Wurst Bearded Women and Men March”, the GayRussia.ru portal reports. “According to the submitted application, the event should take place on Tuesday 27 May, on the 21st anniversary of the decriminalization of consensual gay sex in Russia,” the report says. According […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – May 14, 2014) Amid the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and lingering patriotic fervor following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, a poll published on Tuesday showed that Russians are more reluctant than ever to participate in political protests. The Levada Center, an independent research organization, found that a record high 85 percent of Russians […]
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MOSCOW, May 13 (RIA Novosti) – Russians have become more satisfied with their quality of life, while their desire to protest has decreased, according to polls by the Levada Center and the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM) released Tuesday. Last month, 46 percent of Russians said they were generally satisfied with their quality of life, compared to 43 percent […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Danila Rozanov, special to RBTH – May 12, 2014) Two years ago, Russia’s opposition movement was in full swing as a series of street protests across the country drew huge crowds of people dissatisfied with the rule of Vladimir Putin. But amid infighting among opposition factions and a state crackdown on public protests, […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Christopher Brennan – May 9, 2014) Gay rights activist Alexander Yermoshkin said Thursday that local authorities had approved his request to hold a public event against LGBT discrimination on May 17, a move that may see Russia’s controversial anti-gay propaganda law tested. Other gay rights activists, particularly Moscow’s Nikolai Alexeyev, have frequently complained of applications […]
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(Business New Europe – bne.eu – May 7, 2014) The Kremlin launched a new initiative to outlaw the use of non-transparent trust funds for the holding of shares, Vedomosti reported on Tuesday. One of the biggest problems investigators face in Russia is the widespread use of trust funds to own shares in companies. Trust funds to not have to declare […]
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(Interfax – May 7, 2014) President Vladimir Putin has a confidence rating of 78.3% in Russia, and Russian society is drifting toward conservatism, according to the country’s Civil Society Development Foundation (FoRGO). “There exists demand for conservative policy in practically all strata of Russian society despite allegations by liberal critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin,” FoRGO said in a report […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Ivan Nechepurenko – May 8, 2014) Fighter jets screamed across a snowy Moscow sky on Monday morning, in the last rehearsal ahead of Friday’s Victory Day parade on Red Square. But this year the annual occurrence evoked more than just the usual awe residents feel when glancing overhead, and some Muscovites noted on Twitter that […]
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