Olga Kudeshkina made headlines in 2004 as the first Russian judge to flag up political interference in the judicial system. Dismissed for her resistance, she took her case to the European Court of Human Rights and won. Kudeshkina outlines the continued political pressure felt by the judiciary and
In his final letter home from the army our conscript Tolya “finds” a mobile phone, is pursued by a mad officer and wonders what kind of man the army’s made of him
On Women’s Day in Russia you really get to see what your price tag is
Russian national pride has been badly dented by poor performance at the winter Olympics. It is being widely read as a political failure, reflecting the effects of corruption, and a regime which promotes PR over professionalism
In the first of his regular monthly reports for odRussia, Alexei Levinson of Russia’s prestigious Levada Centre offers a round-up of Russian public opinion at the start of 2010. Even when the economic crisis lead people to judge their government, he notes, approval of Prime Minister Putin remained
Our conscript Tolya continues his study of violence in his airborne division of the Russian army
IKEA, which has publicly railed against corruption in Russia, has itself been caught paying bribes there. Could President Medvedev's anti-corruption campaign really turn Russia into a place where foreigners can do business, wonders Jesse Heath?
Our conscript Tolya had such high hopes of his new posting in the elite regiment of the Russian airborne division, but the bullying goes on – if anything it’s got worse
Much of Russian history is characterized by pendulum swings between orthodoxy and reform to overcome backwardness. Russia is again debating reform and the West has a vital stake.
Tanya Lokshina, Russia researcher for Human Rights Watch, attended a recent demonstration in her professional capacity and was detained by the police three times in thirty minutes. She gives a graphic description of the evening’s events.
Conscript Tolya has been moved again, this time to a show regiment. Life suddenly looks rather better, but is it for real?
