Augusto Come

Augusto Come is a student of the Paris School of International Affairs and Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). He is interested in issues of democracy and transition in the post-Soviet space.

Corruption, corruption, corruption

Russia’s higher education institutions are popularly assumed to be among the most corrupt in the country. Augusto Come considers how the perceptions and realities of corruption in education will eventually impact Russia’s youngest generations (photo: www.obozrevatel.com).

By Augusto Come

/ 29 Nov 2012

Young, brilliant and (so far) politically oblivious

The Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) is one of the most prestigious universities in Russia. The School abounds in clever and often rich young students, groomed to be the stars of tomorrow’s elite. Yet this privileged group is also one that has ousted politics from its dail

By Augusto Come

/ 16 Jan 2012

Russia’s queer democratisation

LGBT people in Russia face a daily battle with homophobia and discrimination, and the decision to ban tomorrow's Gay Pride is but a symbol of that. Yet a new generation of activists give many reasons to be optimistic, writes Augusto Come. Their determined fight for rights is playing an important p

By Augusto Come

/ 27 May 2011

On Putin, Berlusconi and chimpanzees

Putin and Berlusconi constructed their careers based on an idea of virility at a time when the concept seemed to many to be outdated. Augusto Come investigates the strategies both have employed, and finds a striking association with images from the fascist past.

By Augusto Come

/ 4 Mar 2011