Reportage, comment and analysis from Russia's backstage
Land in the centre of Russian cities is expensive and very sought after. No matter if there’s a listed building or a school on it: something can always be arranged to suit the interests of speculative developers, often a fire. Most Russians have experienced the arbitrary decisions of the authorities and Anna Krasnova is no exception.
In any country farming is a hard life, but in Russia the mass exodus to the cities of people of working age has had catastrophic results. Local authority programmes go someway to reversing the flow, but not enough. For many town dwellers the country is only for holidays, says Elena Strelnikova
In the past Soviet citizens would flock to Crimea for their summer holidays. In 1954 Khrushchev handed it over to Ukraine; in 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed and Crimea suddenly became ‘abroad,’ a tricky situation for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Feelings ran high, but have calmed down recently, though memories of the past continue to be hugely important, says Mikhail Loginov
Feted by everyone from politicians to prostitutes, the prospect of co-hosting the Euro 2012 football championships has become something of a substitute national idea for Ukraine. Such a pity, therefore, that it has done nothing to heal the population's deep divisions, or rein in an increasingly corrupt, authoritarian regime..jpg
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Marat Gelman is a well-known Moscow cultural figure. In 2008 he went to curate the Museum of Contemporary Art in provincial Perm, where his ideas for a cultural revolution have encountered considerable local opposition. Arguments about art soon developed into a fully-fledged political battle, recounts Elena Fedotova
Former spin-doctor and gallery owner Marat Gelman has arrived in Perm with a plan to bring "cultural revolution" to the city. Not all locals are happy with the results of his endeavours, reports Roman Yushkov. 
The shock of the recent steamer tragedy on the Volga and the huge loss of life all too quickly moved off the front pages, but the condition of the Russian river fleets needs to be kept in the public eye so as to avoid another such disaster, explains Oleg Pavlov 
The Perm region once boasted well-managed forests, protected and processed for the common good. Today those forests lie abandoned or looted in the name of progress. The locals aren’t happy, but what can they do, asks Roman Yushkov?
The degree of press freedom in Russia has fluctuated violently over the 20 years since the fall of communism. The situation in the Orenburg region, as everywhere, is a balancing act between principles and funding. And it’s always more difficult to rebuild what has been lost, laments Elena Strelnikova.
Bordering Kazakhstan, Orenburg is a first destination for migrant workers from post-Soviet Central Asia. In her latest letter from the Russian Provinces, Elena Strelnikova considers the pluses and minuses of the visitors and how they integrate — or not — into the local society
Christians, Jews and Muslims have lived side by side for generations in Tatarstan. The Soviet period cut a swathe through early 20th century cultural and spiritual developments like Jadidism, but this peaceful form of Islam has since re-emerged. It is more necessary than ever in the current age of religious extremism, says Oleg Pavlov
The Cossacks have played an important part at various times in Russian history. Now their ranks are diluted by intermarriage and the admission of non-Cossacks. Elena Strelnikova ponders the attempts to keep Cossack traditions alive in Orenburg, South Russia.-Антон Денисенко.jpg)
Volgograd has had many incarnations, but is best known as Stalingrad for the great WWII battle that raged in and around the city. Local journalist Oksana Zagrebnyova gives a wry update of life in Volgograd in the run-up to the Duma elections and the city’s relative indifference to a possible change of name, when all the residents want is a normal life with a working infrastructure.
The tragedy of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami has produced chaos on the island of Sakhalin. What little information is available is regarded with suspicion. Ksenia Semyonova monitors the mounting panic.
Russia-China
The new year in Russia
Russia's new economy
Russian rights at the crossroads
Beyond the gastarbeiter: post-Soviet migration
Madeleine Reeves (Manchester University, UK) presents the other side of post-Soviet migration.
Regions
Russia's year of elections
Women, tradition and power in the North Caucasus
Project_ID
Privatizatsiya, twenty years on
Russian economy: trying to please people doesn’t help, Dmitry Travin
Privatisation, but no private property, Andrei Zaostrovtsev
Is corruption in Russia's DNA?, Pyotr Filippov
The Russian banking system: between the market and the state, Pavel Usanov
Russia’s crony capitalism: the swing of the pendulum, Vladimir Gelman
Russian reforms, twenty years on. Introduction to the series, Dmitry Travin
Russian economy: trying to please people doesn’t help, Dmitry Travin
Privatisation, but no private property, Andrei Zaostrovtsev
Is corruption in Russia's DNA?, Pyotr Filippov
The Russian banking system: between the market and the state, Pavel Usanov
Russia’s crony capitalism: the swing of the pendulum, Vladimir Gelman
Russian reforms, twenty years on. Introduction to the series, Dmitry Travin
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