Tag Archives: putin

No questions allowed

The expulsion of a sitting Duma deputy from United Russia for breaking party discipline has very few precedents. It may thus foreshadow the ruling party’s approach to legislating in the years leading up to 2024 and possibly also serves as … Continue reading

Posted in Kremlinology, Policies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The 225 meanings of legitimacy

Amidst an increasingly harsh crackdown on dissent, a crisis of legitimacy haunts the Duma elections that will take place in seven weeks. But what does this actually mean? I argue that Russia in 2021 is not Belarus in 2020, but … Continue reading

Posted in Elections | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On restructuring and reconstruction

Vladimir Putin’s proposals to restructure the debt of Russian regions will likely provide regions with some much-needed fiscal relief in an election year. Putin expects governors to come up with ideas, spend on them and take responsibility for their implementation. … Continue reading

Posted in Policies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Elections ahead – Part IV

Six months before this year’s Duma election Russia’s political landscape is in flux. The future of “smart voting” remains a factor of uncertainty. Shifts in public opinion, the Kremlin’s new red lines and how the systemic opposition has reacted to … Continue reading

Posted in Elections, Policies | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

NY Dispatches: Putin reacts

According to Alexei Navalny’s campaign the protests that started on 23 January will continue this week. One thing that protesters have already achieved is forcing Vladimir Putin to address the accusations in Navalny investigation into his ill-gotten wealth, in person. … Continue reading

Posted in Dispatches, Society | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NY Dispatches: the FSB exposures

What the Bellingcat report on Alexey Navalny’s would-be killers from the Federal Security Service (FSB) and Navalny’s phone call to one of them reveal about the Kremlin’s prospects in 2021 and beyond.

Posted in Dispatches, Policies | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

NY Dispatches: Fragile sovereignism

The State Duma adopted, in the first reading, a bill expanding the defition of “foreign agents”, a discriminatory law first adopted in 2012. It appears that the updated law will be approved in the final reading in early 2021, opening … Continue reading

Posted in Dispatches, Elections, Policies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment