Tag Archives: siloviki

On budgeting, nationalizations and others

Posted on October 1, 2026 by

Looking back on September, the new federal budget bill and some of the developments in the region over the summer, I am delving into regional fiscal data to explain where and what will likely be cut in the near future … Continue reading →

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On dismissals and score-settling, new directions for public administration and others

Posted on April 30, 2024 by

On the Kremlin’s cautious personnel policy running parallel to increasingly bold score-settling enabled by the domestic political agenda, a creeping public administration reform, and more.

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On dismissals, recruitment and others

Posted on April 6, 2024 by

Thoughts on dismissals and arrests in the regions after the presidential election and before this year’s gubernatoropad. What do recruitment efforts by regional authorities tell us about how Russia works today? And some stories from the regions that didn’t make … Continue reading →

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On new normals, regional finances and others

Posted on March 20, 2024 by

Thoughts on number-crunching after the elections and why research into falsification is important. Why did Putin have to have 87%? Musings about regional finances in early 2024. And some stories from the regions that didn’t make the cut in Bear … Continue reading →

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Requiem for a man – not for a dream

Posted on February 25, 2024 by

More than a week has passed since Alexey Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison colony – a death which, while its exact circumstances have not been revealed, can, in my opinion, rightly be called a murder, for which Vladimir Putin … Continue reading →

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Low on capacity

Posted on October 11, 2022 by

As timelines in Russia’s war against Ukraine are shifting, the war has highlighted Russia’s low state capacity. Military mobilization and the state’s reply to the economic disruptions created by the war offer two recent examples. This will become a much … Continue reading →

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Uncharted territory

Posted on February 27, 2022 by

Vladimir Putin started a war of subjugation against Ukraine. Ukraine has put up an unexpectedly strong resistance and the West pulled out all the stops from sanctions. A couple of days after the aggression started, it seems that everyone wants … Continue reading →

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