Russian Reform at a Turning Point

Denis Corboy, William Courtney, and Kenneth Yalowitz 12 February 2010
Much of Russian history is characterized by pendulum swings between orthodoxy and reform to overcome backwardness. Russia is again debating reform and the West has a vital stake.

Moscow protests: Groundhog Day in Triumfalnaya Square

Tanya Lokshina 11 February 2010
Tanya Lokshina, Russia researcher for Human Rights Watch, attended a recent demonstration in her professional capacity and was detained by the police three times in thirty minutes. She gives a graphic description of the evening’s events.

A Soldier's Tale 6: new beginnings? Perhaps!

Tolya's Letters 8 February 2010
Conscript Tolya has been moved again, this time to a show regiment. Life suddenly looks rather better, but is it for real?

A Soldier’s Tale (5): a new life? Not b… likely!

Tolya's Letters 1 February 2010
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.

Winter Storm in Tatarstan

Oleg Pavlov 27 January 2010
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

A Soldier’s Tale (4): the army paradox

Tolya's Letters 25 January 2010
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

I've turned 25, uh-huh. Wish me luck…

Anastasia Baburova

14.06.2007

I went out rollerblading. First time. From 12 to 2 (a.m., of course).

I fell down

Amazed at the amount of jerks out there

Didn't put on knee-pads and I'm not going to. Don't even have a helmet =)

Should have goalkeeper's gloves instead of hands.

Spent half the time on size 39 blades (3 sizes bigger than mine) before I remembered that you can adjust them =))

In memoriam Nastya and Stas

Andrei Loshak 18 January 2010
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

A soldier’s tale (3): hospital, then what?

Tolya's Letters 18 January 2010
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.

A soldier’s tale (2): trying to blend in

Tolya's Letters 15 January 2010
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.

Fleeced. A letter from the Russian provinces

Elena Godlevskaya 6 January 2010
Corruption has always been part of Russian life, and the Oryol region today just offers a rather extreme example, says Elena Godlevskaya. Some of the main perpetrators have been named, but the punishment being meted out to them is a joke.

A soldier’s tale (1)

Tolya's Letters 2 January 2010
A new Russian army recruit writes home about life at a parachute regiment basic training camp

Yegor Gaidar: the reformer who died of neglect

Dmitri Travin 23 December 2009
Yegor Gaidar, architect of the radical economic reforms in Russia which followed the fall of Soviet power, died on 15 December. Dmitry Travin reflects on the achievement of a great economist and patriot who saved his country and quietly shouldered the hatred that followed.

Perm blaze sets Russia alight

Elena Strelnikova 21 December 2009
The recent catastrophic fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm grabbed national headlines. Local authorities all over Russia are suddenly having to get their act together, says Elena Strelnikova

Panicking about swine flu in Orenburg

Elena Strelnikova 9 December 2009
The region is gripped by swine flu panic, much of it orchestrated, in the opinion of Elena Strelnikova. But every cloud has a silver lining – we’re all having unscheduled holidays

The Russian media

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Russia-China

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The new year in Russia

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Russia's new economy

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Russian rights at the crossroads

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Beyond the gastarbeiter: post-Soviet migration

Madeleine Reeves (Manchester University, UK) presents the other side of post-Soviet migration.

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Regions

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Russia's year of elections

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Women, tradition and power in the North Caucasus

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Project_ID

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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

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