Tag Archives: putin

Trial by legitimacy

Posted on April 26, 2013 by

Most Russia-watchers agree that the trial against Alexei Navalny signals the beginning of a new era in Russia. Indeed, there are a lot of similarities with the Khodorkovsky arrest (and trial) in 2003-04, which I will not enumerate in details, … Continue reading →

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Reset or upgrade?

Posted on March 1, 2013 by

Last week, the Minchenko Consulting published its newest report on the dynamics of the so-called Politburo 2.0 – a circle of influential politicians and businessman that make up the informal decision-making body around the President. The report, which is a … Continue reading →

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A case for Medvedev

Posted on February 7, 2013 by

Dmitry Medvedev outlined an economic program stretching all the way to 2018, the date of the next presidential election. More importantly, he did it in the Kremlin, unlike any of his predecessors, in an apparent attempt to demonstrate he was … Continue reading →

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Closing holes on the horn of plenty

Posted on January 23, 2013 by

2013 in Russian politics will start with the first two important initiatives of Vladimir Putin, after irresolute fire-fighting in 2012, aimed at taking reasoned steps towards preserving his power in the longer term. The purpose of one of these is … Continue reading →

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2012: not quite there yet

Posted on December 31, 2012 by

Many things that prominent Russia-watchers had expected didn’t happen in 2012. Most notably, the new opposition didn’t achieve a breakthrough in the regions, neither was Dmitry Medvedev dismissed, although in September these seemed all but imminent. Also, Vladimir Putin’s rating … Continue reading →

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The kompromat bubble

Posted on December 8, 2012 by

There is a very unique Russian word that has haunted Russian politics ever since the fall of the Soviet Union: kompromat, a Russian-style contraction of ‘compromising material’. Kompromats have a lively culture in Russia. Creating a good kompromat has become … Continue reading →

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Ten questions

Posted on November 29, 2012 by

To put an end to my having neglected the blog for the last month, I intend to come up with a longer and thorougher entry. As a preparation, below are ten questions which I think are the most important and … Continue reading →

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