What’s in a name? President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan was apparently in earnest when he recently suggested changing the name of ‘his’ country. If he gets his way, the domestic and international implications are very real.
President Nazarbayev has turned Kazakhstan into a Central Asian powerhouse. He is 73, and shows no sign of giving up the reins. But there are riches at stake, and people waiting in the wings.
In Russia, 23 February is celebrated as Defender of the Fatherland Day. But despite a law entitling them to decent housing, many World War Two veterans in Siberia have little to celebrate.
Fears of terrorism surrounding the Sochi Olympics have seen much talk of ‘Black Widows’ and the 'Caucasus Emirate,' but do these headline-grabbing terms obscure the real nature and origins of terrorism in the North Caucasus?
Russia’s unemployment figures look low, but they are rising, and there is a great gulf between the prosperous centre and failing regions.
What does President Putin hope to gain from hosting the Winter Olympics? There is a grave danger that the messages behind the Kremlin’s rebranding exercise could boomerang against the government.
At the end of 2013 veteran US statesman Zbigniew Brzezinski, known for his fierce anti-Soviet stance, wrote in the Financial Times that Russia would find it impossible to revive its former empire. But how convincing are his arguments?
Euromaidan in Ukraine has produced another protest movement – Automaidan. It has picked up so much speed that the government is doing everything it can to put the brakes on…
How does one explain Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky’s (MBK) unexpected release from prison? President Putin no longer sees him as a threat? President Putin is losing his grip? No, Operation MBK was a classic power play…
Don't know your Klitschko from your Titushki? Can’t remember which oligarch is which? What or who is a ‘Maidan?’ With our heavyweight guide, you won’t have to buy the next round…
Global attention is focused on Russia’s hosting of the Winter Olympics, a PR coup for President Putin. But all is not well on the economic front and the scenario the Russian government will probably choose going forward is unlikely to be much help.
There’s a popular misconception about Russian politics that ‘everything happens in Moscow.’ But sometimes it’s the capital that has to catch up with the regions (or with Siberia at least).
