Reports

For years, the only role “the people” have played in Russian politics is one in which they legitimize the regime in power. Though admittedly important, that role did not involve shaping the political agenda. Now, that seems to be changing – all because of a mismanaged election for Moscow’s city ...

While corruption has spurred political change in Latin America, it remains the basic currency of power in many other parts of the world. This is particularly evident in post-communist regimes like Russia, where private fortunes can be amassed and confiscated at the whim of a tiny elite. This appropriation of ...

Vladimir Putin is at the heart of Russia’s political system. But less and less of what is happening in the country depends on his personal vision and volition. The president looks increasingly disengaged, while his policy of confrontation with the West is a dead end. As the first outlines of ...

What to do with Crimea is a seemingly insoluble problem. With patriotic Russian opinion firmly set in the “Crimean consensus,” returning the territory to Ukraine is out of the question. Letting it remain as part of Russia is equally unacceptable to Ukraine and the West. Perhaps the best place to ...

In just four years, Alexey Navalny has taken Russia's political scene by storm. From a complete unknown, he has risen to the first opposition figure who can be legitimately regarded as a possible alternative to Vladimir Putin. But beyond his flashy anti-corruption campaign, even close political observers have little idea ...

This spring more than a half million long-haul truckers went on strike in Russia. The immediate effect of the protests was relatively minor, mostly restricted to local food shortages, yet the authorities responded forcefully and imposed a near-total news blackout. What makes the strike so threatening is that it merges ...

Russia enters 2017 with a sense of vague disquiet. With presidential elections a year away, not everyone is sure the “main candidate” will be Vladimir Putin. Concern is palpable inside the government and the security apparatus, as interest groups jockey for position.

Ukrainian leaders have claimed that Europe and its values are at stake in Donbas, and, more recently, that their country has been drawn into a ‘real’ interstate war with Russia. This rhetoric is harmful. It aims at extorting Western military support, which both United States' President Barack Obama and Nato ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin has learned from his mistakes. He remains in total control of Russia’s power and political life by neutralising any opposition. But speculation mounted when he disappeared for 10 days in March, 2015. Could his enemies remove him and how could this be achieved? Or is he ...

Kremlin watchers were surprised in December 2013 by the announcement of immediate pardons for several leading regime opponents who had been imprisoned or held under house arrest for political reasons. But Russia has more subtle ways of keeping potential activists under control than simply jailing them. It uses threats and ...

Disaffected voters are the target of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s new political movement – the Popular Front. As leader of the organisation, he is distancing himself from the tarnished reputation of the pro-Kremlin United Russia party and will try to sweeten the mood of the angry, vocal new middle class ...

There can be little doubt that Russian President Vladimir Putin is personally in charge of every important move against opposition figures such as Alexsei Navalny, who was found guilty of embezzlement but, surprisingly, released on bail. Mr Putin must therefore be convinced that the benefits of political trials outweigh the ...

Blogger Aleksei Navalny emerged as a political leader during the 2011-2012 mass demonstrations again Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime. He has become a victim of the Kremlin’s crackdown on the opposition and faces jail on fraud charges. But he has registered to stand as a candidate in the elections for ...

A new investigative agency at the Kremlin, known as the Sledkom, set up ostensibly to weed out corruption, appears to have set its sights on repressing political opposition to Russia's President Vladimir Putin. The man in charge of the new agency, Aleksandr Bastrykin, has the support of Mr Putin - ...

The Russian regime has adopted a four-prong strategy against the so-called ‘Snow Revolution’ protesters. It has clamped down on demonstrations, restricted donations from abroad, targeted opposition leaders and tried to control the internet. Vladimir Putin is living up to the promise he made the day after he was elected president ...

Russia’s rulers appear to have dashed the hopes of the peaceful protesters who thronged the streets of major cities in the so-called Snow Revolution against vote rigging and corruption. At first the regime seemed shaken, but since the return of Vladimir Putin as president, the opposition, who have been unable ...