Category Archives: Elections

Elections ahead – Part IV

Posted on March 9, 2021 by

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 →

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Three tales from the regions

Posted on February 22, 2021 by

In Ernest Hemingway’s novel, “The Sun Also Rises”, a character, Mike is asked how he went bankrupt. He answers: “Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” This is also how political change often happens. Small-scale, incremental changes that go unnoticed prepare the ground for something … Continue reading →

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Elections ahead – Part III

Posted on February 11, 2021 by

Navalny’s campaign put a pause on protests and will likely focus on this year’s Duma election – which is expected to be heavily rigged – even as the leaders of loyal opposition parties are scrambling to assure the Kremlin that … Continue reading →

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The plague year of the regions

Posted on February 4, 2021 by

The pandemic year of 2020 battered regional budgets. Some went through a double crisis due to the oil slump in the first half of the year. However, official figures released in January show a somewhat rosier picture than many feared. … Continue reading →

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Elections ahead – Part II

Posted on January 19, 2021 by

A week ago, I looked at regional electoral data to find out what these suggest about the electoral chances of United Russia in this year’s legislative election. I concluded that even with a popularity of under 30 percent nation-wide the … Continue reading →

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Elections ahead

Posted on January 9, 2021 by

This year Russia will hold nation-wide legislative elections and the talk of the town, for months, have been whether the Kremlin’s expectation is for United Russia, which presently holds 343 of 450 seats – a comfortable constitutional supermajority – in … Continue reading →

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NY Dispatches: Fragile sovereignism

Posted on December 14, 2020 by

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 →

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