Throughout the Putin heyday, Russian political discourse was invented, manipulated and owned by a handful of Kremlin spin doctors. Over the last year, that changed. Though they failed to make real policy headway, the opposition did something potentially just as significant: they began to win the war of imagination.

Regional journalist Elena Strelnikova takes a wry look at some of the events of the departing year. 

Across the world, a youthful flame of revolution has engulfed leaders, governments and the very notion of modern Westphalian order. In an extended essay, Daniil Kotsyubinsky wonders if the logical next phase of history is regionalism, and starting with his own native Russia. 

Moscow, unlike St Petersburg, is an unplanned city that has grown organically over the centuries, and where new developments can still mean the destruction of older buildings of historical interest. A few traces remain, however, from medieval times and even prehistory. Alexander Mozhayev has been investigating them.

St Petersburg used to be called Russia’s second capital. As Putin’s home city, it enjoyed popularity and success when he became president in 2000. But not any longer. The distinctly uncharismatic governor, appointed to make cuts and keep order, is both the symbol and cause of that, says Mikhail Loginov

The Sixth London Russian Film Festival, which took place in London earlier this month, introduced 11 new feature films and 7 documentaries to the British public. Masha Karp went to watch the documentaries, hoping to see a true picture of Russia today.

Officially, the Russian government is above politics. While this stance worked well during the boom years, since the financial crisis it has been paralysing government. Reform is urgently needed. But how can these be pushed through without recourse to politics? Russia’s non-political period is drawing to a close, Dmitry Butrin reckons.

Last month, a number of slave migrant workers were discovered in the cellar of a Moscow store. It was, alas, just one example of a much a wider practice exploiting vulnerable groups across the country. In a special oDRussia investigation, Grigory Tumanov reports on the worrying prevalence of modern-day enslavement within Russia.

President Nazarbayev has been head of state in Kazakhstan for 23 years (before, and since, independence in 1991). The 2011 election effectively confirmed his life tenure, which has put the country into a state of suspended animation and stagnation. Change will have to wait, says Luca Anceschi