Category Archives: Kremlinology

Call my bluff

There it is: the longer, more violent and potentially more dangerous version of the Orange Revolution turned Ukraine around and put Viktor Yanukovych out to grass for good. Partly because of Yanukovych tragically poor political skills but also because of … Continue reading →

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

Bumps ahead

2013 was clearly the year of Vladimir Putin. After an embarrassing 2011 and a whacky 2012, the Russian president solidified his grip on the domestic political realm, tightened the screws so efficiently that by the end of the year he … Continue reading →

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

A case against Medvedev

It started as yet another bill extending the powers of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. It continued with brilliant back-handers from Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. The Prime Minister dryly criticised Putin’s initiative, to which Putin replied with … Continue reading →

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

An aging octopus

Right after the Moscow mayoral election, Vladimir Putin nominated his aide Tatiana Golikova to head the Court of Audit. The Russian and international press did not care much: after all, Navalny and Roizman occupied the headlines. A couple of weeks … Continue reading →

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

A tale of two politicians

Alexei Navalny was preparing to become the newest hero of the Russian opposition, an opposition that is now much wider, stronger, and more diverse and thus has much more opportunities than ten years ago, when Mikhail Khodorkovsky was convicted. When … Continue reading →

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

The state of patience

Undoubtedly, the political highlight of the past week was the founding congress of the All-Russian People’s Front (ONF), or, as it is now called, the People’s Front for Russia, the political project of the deputy head of the Presidential Administration, … Continue reading →

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

Unclear fission

The dismissal of Vladislav Surkov might just be the beginning of a serious rupture in the Russian political elite. Not that this is of any surprise. Surkov was a very important figure of the past fourteen years and he is … Continue reading →

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