The beginning of the end for Putin?

Sunday’s heavily disputed election results were a disaster for the Kremlin, who seem to have underestimated the level of national frustration. Putin now finds himself in a crisis, and while he has historically used such situations to his advantage, might the task of regaining authority prove too much this time?

A defeat in all but name

United Russia may have obtained a technical victory in Sunday’s disputed parliamentary elections, but their failure to obtain 50% of the votes has imparted serious psychological damage on the ruling elite. It has also emboldened the public, which for the first time in a long time realises it can make a difference. These developments makes yesterday's result extremely significant, writes Grigorii Golosov.

Shrugging for Putin: Russia's flawed elections

Russia holds parliamentary elections on Sunday, but with most of the important questions already well answered, there is little in the way of pre-election suspense. Tanya Lokshina writes on crows, apathy and a growing number for whom Putin’s soft authoritarianism is already yesterday’s story.

A face in the crowd: the FSB is watching you!

President Medvedev has made much of Russia’s need for modernisation and advanced technology. One project piloted in some Moscow metro stations involves face recognition using biometric technology. This can clearly be used as protection against terrorism, but given that the organisation which commissioned the project is the FSB, information gained could also be used for other purposes, say Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan

Russian TV: a different truth for east and west?

Russia’s 9 time zones are often exploited by TV management to pull controversial programmes, but the internet has changed the rules of the game. A recent film about kidnap victims in Chechnya was shown in the Far East, but not in European Russia. The ensuing outcry and internet activity show that people have had enough of censorship, says Tanya Lokshina

The Russian state and surveillance technology

The Russian blogosphere has burgeoned into a open-door sanctuary for all strands of political opinion. Predictably, it has also attracted the attention of the country's security services. Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov present the first in a series of investigations outlining how the Russian state is now monitoring its online public.

The end of anonymity: introducing Project_ID

A new series on openDemocracy Russia

Bankruptcy and privatisation: the end of Lukashenka’s Belarus?

A failed economic model and falling transit subsidies from Russia have propelled the Belarusian economy to the brink. The harsh reality of stopgap sales and emergency loans that awaits will only delay the inevitable, writes David Marples.

Russian elections: the abandoned script

Internal and external pressures seem to have triggered a radical readjustment in the Kremlin’s pre-election planning. The consequences may prove long-lasting, writes Nikolai Petrov

Tymoshenko: a matter for the people, not the courts

Yanukovych’s decision to authorise a Kafkaesque trial against Yulia Tymoshenko is proving to be his most counterproductive yet, writes Denis Macshane. Having created an unlikely heroine, and reduced EU integration from the hypothetical to the impossible, it is in Yanukovych’s best interests to ensure his rival is released swiftly.

Anna: five years on

Five years ago today, on 7 October 2006, investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s was found murdered in her apartment block. Colleague Yelena Milashina remembers that fateful day.

Yekaterinburg: where have all the opposition gone?

The past few months have seen a number of opposition activists from the western Siberian city of Yekaterinburg arrested, threatened, prosecuted and imprisoned. Some have even been forced to flee the country. Might this be the prelude to a more nationwide campaign, wonders Pavel Stroilov?

Behind the scenes at the death squads of Chechnya

Formal hostilities may have ceased in Chechnya, but civilians continue to be abducted, tortured and murdered by the authorities in the region. Igor Kalyapin, head of the Committee Against Torture, talks to Svetlana Reiter about the remarkable and dangerous work being done to seek justice for the victims.

Moscow attempts to elbow Strasbourg aside

For many in Russia the word ‘Strasbourg’ is identified with justice and the protection of human rights and the European Court receives thousands of applications every year. But recent proposed amendments to Russian laws would make the process of applying to Strasbourg more complicated and give the Russian Constitutional Court powers to override judgments from Strasbourg, says Anna Sevortian

The riffraff revolution and the Russian universe

News of the English riots and looting was greeted variously in countries around the world. In Russia, many ordinary Russians were shocked and horrified, but there were also some complacent smiles at the “stupidity” of political correctness and multiculturalism, explains Andrei Ostalsky

Beyond the gastarbeiter: post-Soviet migration

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