Most Russian TV outlets are kept under tight Kremlin control. TV Rain, an independent cable channel, has navigated many rapids in its short existence, but is nonetheless still operating. Natalya Sindeyeva describes her vision to Mumin Shakirov and Zygmunt Dzieciolowski.
In a few months, the EU will decide whether to sign an Association Agreement with Ukraine. President Viktor Yanukovych is, however, focused on a different agenda - how to win a second term in 2015. He's ready to go to any lengths to bring that about, reports Sergii Leshchenko.
Broadcaster Vladimir Posner’s ‘slip of the tongue’, calling Russia’s parliament the Dura (fool) instead of the Duma, added yet another slur to the already emasculated body. A lapdog parliament is exactly what Putin wants running behind him, writes Mikhail Loginov.
Police corruption has reached epic levels in the Russian republic of Dagestan. The men in charge with tackling the issue felt they had no option but to go public, but their actions have been met with a deafening silence from Moscow, says Susan Richards
Alexandr Bastrykin, head of Russia’s influential Investigative Committee, is one of the most powerful individuals in the Putinite power system, but his biography is relatively unknown. Richard Sakwa has, however, been tracking the rise of this shadowy figure.
Cyprus’s monetary crisis has drawn international attention to the island’s role as a tax haven and money laundry for Russia’s rich. Meanwhile, Putin has announced a crackdown at home — which Pavel Usanov believes is doomed to failure, given the all-pervasive corruption of life in Russia.
THE CEELBAS DEBATE // There have been tensions between native Russians and ethnic minorities since the Tatar Yoke of the 13th century. Successive rulers either tried to keep an uneasy peace or fanned the flames of division. Federica Prina discusses the Russian Government’s latest strategies for cr
THE CEELBAS DEBATE // In the post-2010 crackdown, cultural expression has become synonymous with political resistance in Belarus. But is it really possible for a regime to fight against its own national culture, and survive, wonders Simon Lewis?
THE CEELBAS DEBATE// In 2009 Sergei Magnitsky died in police custody, causing a commotion inside Russia and abroad. A year later, theatre company Teatr.doc staged ‘One Hour Eighteen’, a theatrical trial of those involved in Magnitsky's last days. Molly Flynn considers the significance of this stri
