Aims
Russia's headlong transition from communist superpower to petro-state has been traumatic for its people, unsettling for its neighbours and often perplexing for the rest of the world. Now, in the wake of its war with Georgia, international relations have reached a new level of tension, leading to claims of a new cold war or accusations of great game ambitions.
In this charged atmosphere, openDemocracy Russia offers a thoughtful platform for people concerned about the future of Russia and her desire to establish a new place in the world. Here, you will find passionately held views: Russians writing about the issues that matter to them across a wide range of subjects, from the economy to culture; Western experts exchanging views with their Russian counterparts; Russian historians debating its past with one another, and joining with historians from elsewhere in exploring the parallels between Russia's experience and that of other countries. You will read about everyday life in remote parts of Russia. You will find perspectives from countries which were once part of the Soviet empire.
At the core of openDemocracy Russia's offering lies its partnership with the distinguished Moscow ezine polit.ru, affording us access to informed Russian thinking. This is the starting point of a network which aims to stretch outwards across the whole post-Soviet space.
openDemocracy Russia will strive to broaden the global debate on the main openDemocracy website so as to include Russia. It will be introducing into Russia's debates some of the best, open minded coverage of world affairs published in the openDemocracy network. It will also be translating and introducing to the world a wide spectrum of lively and intelligent Russian writers and commentators whose views and voices we think the world needs to hear.
Susan Richards & Zygmunt Dzieciolowski
People
Advisory Board
openDemocracy Russia has an advisory board composed of:
Floriana Fossato is former Moscow correspondent for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Her openDemocracy authorprofile is here.
Susan Richards is a non-executive director and founder of openDemocracy. She has produced a number of feature films and written a prize-winning book, Epics of Everyday Life, about the lives of ordinary Russians in the transition from communism. Her next book which covers the period 1992-2008, Lost and Found in Russia, was published by I.B.Tauris in 2009, and a later edition by Other Press, was published in 2010
Maria Lipman, fellow of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, is the Editor-in-Chief of Pro etContra. Her Carnegieprofile is here.
Andrei Zorin is Professor of Russian and Fellow of New College, Oxford. His Oxfordpage is here.
Manana Aslamazyanis a director of Internews. Her Internewsprofile is here.
Zygmunt Dzieciolowski is a print and TV journalist with 20 years' Russian experience. He is a regular contributor to openDemocracy on Russian topics. His openDemocracy authorprofile is here.
Tony Curzon Price is Editor-in-Chief of openDemocracy. His openDemocracy author profile is here.
