Conscript Tolya has been moved again, this time to a show regiment. Life suddenly looks rather better, but is it for real?

The economic crisis has hit Russian regions hard. Natalya Zubareivch deems government solutions to the resulting unemployment to be mainly a smoke and mirrors job, which conceals a real unemployment figure of 8%.

Throughout Russian and Soviet history, the intellectual has played a central and hugely influential role in society. Today, that has changed. A recent internet vote on the country’s most influential intellectual saw instead postmodern ambiguity emerge victorious, writes Lyubov Borusyak

On the eve of the crucial run-off in Ukraine's presidential election, Fabrizio Tassinari argues that enlargement fatigue in the EU has meant that since the Orange Revolution Ukraine has been offered no real prospect of joining Europe

Our conscript, Tolya, has left basic training. He hopes that things will be different, but his hopes are soon dashed when he meets his demobbers or dembels.

There were such hopes for the future in Georgia after the Rose Revolution in 2004, but history is running backwards, says former foreign minister Salome Zourabishvili, and President Saakashvili must be told that enough is enough

Alexander Sergunin is right that Moscow is concerned the EU’s Eastern Partnership is setting out to undermine its sphere of influence. But this is a misperception, responds Sebastian Schaeffer, for it implies a zero sum game. In fact, the EU and Russia are mutually dependent and have overlapping interests. They need to work together more closely, and communicate better

Moscow’s attitude towards the EU fluctuates. There are deep-seated doubts that the EU is attempting to undermine Russia’s geopolitical positions in its traditional sphere of interest. Alexander Sergunin examines Russian concerns.

Jobs are scarce, pension rises mediocre and the local authorities have even taken away the Christmas trees. But despite the disquiet, appetite for protest in Tatarstan remains low, says Oleg Pavlov

Letters are a life-line for Tolya. The army’s a mysterious entity, unknowable by anyone outside it, the conscript reflects. Awful though it is, he wouldn’t have missed it. He’s learned a lot. And even (possibly) made a friend

In the second part of this important interview with polit.ru’s Boris Dolgin, veteran foreign affairs analyst Dmitry Trenin outlines an optimistic vision of Russia’s future. The country’s foreign policy will change as Russia’s elite matures, he predicts. In time, that elite will need the rule of law and democratic values, he believes. And in order to modernise, it will look to Europe

There have been many attempts at building new structures to replace the Soviet Union, since it fell 10 years ago. These have left the political landscape littered with acronyms: CST, CSTO, CRRF, SCO, EEC, SES, GUAM and GUUAM. In the second part of his article Sergei Markedonov reviews their success, failures and attendant complications.

Anastasia Baburova and Stanislav Markelov were gunned down in a neo-Nazi contract killing a year ago. In this moving tale Andrei Loshak tells us why he and his friend, who also suffered neo-Nazi violence, will be going on the Moscow march in their memory

In this third excerpt from his letters, our Russian conscript ends up in hospital, with time to reflect on what lies ahead. He reflects on the bullying of the ‘bitches’ by the ‘grandpas’. So deeply entrenched is it, he reckons, that the army would fall apart without it.

On the eve of Ukraine’s election, Andreas Umland rebukes Europe for its indecisive policy towards Ukraine. By refusing to offer Ukraine a clear prospect of eventual EU membership, the EU has exacerbated the country’s political problems in ways which could prove disastrous.

In this second letter home our new conscript Tolya is starting to settle in to his two-year stint in Russia’s army. He tells us about the food and how he has learnt to avoid being beaten up.

Russia’s foreign policy is outdated, according to the distinguished foreign affairs analyst Dmitry Trenin. In the first part of this interview with polit.ru’s Boris Dolgin he argues that rather than focus on preserving Russia’s status as a great power, its aim should be modernisation. Otherwise, great power or no, the country is doomed

A Belarusian novel encourages citizens to question their own role in perpetuating the regime that governs them. The authorities’ response suggests it has touched a nerve, says Natalia Leshchenko.

2010 sees the 19th anniversary of the collapse of the USSR. In the first of this two-part review of the structures set up to replace it, Sergei Markedonov assesses the performance of the Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS). He concludes that a complicating factor has been the lack of clarity surrounding the role of its dominant partner, Russia.