The Republic of Tatarstan is spending some of its not inconsiderable oil and gas revenues on restoring the ruined capital of an 8th century civilisation. This project may play well to the sense of Tatar identity, but it has many critics, recounts Maxim Edwards
Chechnya’s women face fresh constraints, new rules and increased violence sanctioned from above. At home, they are subject to unwritten codes that systematically disenfranchise them. They must brave all this to enforce their rights under the Russian constitution. Beyond that, there is only the Eur
On 10th July a Moscow court extended the pre-trial detention of three members of feminist punk rock band Pussy Riot, charged with hooliganism after they performed a ‘blasphemous’ and anti-Putin song in the city’s main cathedral in February. Vladimir Pastukhov believes there is much the case tells
Turkey has frequently been cited as a model for other countries in the Middle East currently undergoing an "Arab Spring." While there are similarities among the countries of the Middle East, Turkey has had a distinct trajectory that does not make it an appropriate model.
Evidence of cronyism, inappropriate luxury and an un-Christian lack of clemency towards punk band Pussy Riot have led many Russians to question the role of the Russian Orthodox Church. Now the subject of open ridicule, the Church has allowed itself to be engulfed in the wider crisis of the Russian
The legal procedure in the case of Anders Behring Breivik, the perpetrator of the Norwegian massacre of July 2011, is a case-study of democratic values - in particular, that democracy is not a "what" but a "how", says Thomas Hylland Eriksen.
The immediate reactions to the terrorist attack in Oslo in July 2011 were both politicised and inaccurate. The opening of the perpetrator's trial nine months later finds leading ideological positions still full of evasion, says Cas Mudde.
A by-election earthquake in the post-industrial northern English city of Bradford saw a high-profile politician with a strong appeal among disaffected urban Muslims win an overwhelming victory. This "Bradford spring" reflects the changing attitudes and concerns of Muslim voters in a democracy that
Why do some Muslims join radical groups? Theories abound but their analytic capacity remains low as they tend to focus on only a single aspect of this complex issue. Something they miss is why new recruits consider joining these groups a positive thing: they find good friends there.
Contrary to the fears of some western observers, Islam has had a strong tradition of rule of law and religious and political freedom. There is no reason for concern about the electoral success of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt
Do the supposedly civilised values of human rights and responsible citizenry become exclusionary, used to divide rather than unite? Is religion a partner of liberty? On the day the British parliament considers a bill proposing the banning of headscarves in public places, Robin Llewellyn reviews Jo
How are recent events in Iran to be interpreted? History has a lot to teach us, argues David Madden
