Russian society has never learnt what it is to feel responsibility for anything. Serfdom was abolished 150 years ago, engendering feelings of panic in many of the ‘liberated’ peasants. Ivan Karamazov uses the Legend of the Grand Inquisitor to demonstrate that it’s easier when there is no freedom a
In the past Soviet citizens would flock to Crimea for their summer holidays. In 1954 Khrushchev handed it over to Ukraine; in 1991 the Soviet Union collapsed and Crimea suddenly became ‘abroad,’ a tricky situation for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Feelings ran high, but have calmed down recently, t
Mintimer Shaimiyev served in the government of Tatarstan during Soviet times (1969-91) and was subsequently President of the republic for nearly 20 years. Oleg Pavlov talked to him about the past, the present and the future of his republic, and of Russia.
The story of a powerful and ambitious Armenian oligarch is also a case-study in the flaws of European Union policy in the small Caucasian republic, says Armen Haykyan.
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
The parliamentary election has been called for 4 December and the jockeying for position among the opposition parties will doubtless increase as politicians return refreshed from their holidays. How can those outside the system have any effect at all on the outcome? Grigorii Golosov considers some
The first round of Kyrgyzstan’s presidential elections will take place on 30 October, with the likely victor and the future of the political system far from certain. Asel Doolotkeldieva profiles the contenders, and wonders if the country can manage electoral conflict without it spilling over into
The Black Sea republic of Abkhazia has elected its third president since securing effective independence from Georgia in 1993. The tiny country faces economic and social difficulties, in part deriving from its lack of international recognition. But its democratic experience deserves more attention
The disputed region of Abkhazia holds its presidential elections tomorrow. Earlier in the election campaign, Oliver Carroll travelled to Sukhum to speak to the two leading candidates, Alyksandr Ankvab and Sergei Shamba.
Abkhazia has gone to the polls to elect its third president. While the elections may provide an entertaining sideshow, there is little danger of them ever being legitimate or electing a truly independent voice, argues Denis MacShane
For many years Irina Teplinskaya has been campaigning for replacement therapy to be available to drug addicts in Russia, but it remains banned by the law. On 18 August Irina returned to Russia from a course of rehabilitation in Ukraine. At the border she was searched and a tablet ‘found’ in her ba
The authorities’ destruction of a building and precious archive of human-rights workers in Baku is an act of mindless cruelty that damages Azerbaijan itself, says Thomas de Waal.
