Tag Archives: putin

NY Dispatches: Putin’s call-in show

Posted on June 21, 2019 by

Vladimir Putin held his annual call-in show yesterday. Don’t worry if you did not have four hours to watch it: it was not worth it. Below are some of the takeaways from a show that has gradually become less interesting … Continue reading →

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NY Dispatches: Ivan Golunov’s case

Posted on June 12, 2019 by

The swift release of investigative journalist Ivan Golunov from custody after unprecedented protests is a triumph of Russia’s increasingly confident civil society and press. The way it happened also tells us a lot about the worst fears of the Russian … Continue reading →

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NY Dispatches: Putin’s trust rating

Posted on June 5, 2019 by

The grotesque revision of the methodology behind the Russian president’s trust rating by the state-owned VTsIOM pollster following a comment by Putin’s spokesman does not only show how malleable statistical data are in Russia. It also tells a lot about … Continue reading →

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NY Dispatches: The protest in Yekaterinburg

Posted on May 16, 2019 by

One of the most remarkable protest actions of the past decade seems to be unfolding in Yekaterinburg, Russia’s fourth largest city this week, where thousands of locals protest the construction of a church on what is now a green area. … Continue reading →

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Shoigu’s Game

Posted on March 23, 2019 by

One of the underreported stories of the past years in the Western media was how Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu became one of the most visible, most popular and strongest figures in Russian politics. This is perhaps because Shoigu has … Continue reading →

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The rise of the regions

Posted on January 11, 2019 by

The main story of the year 2018 in Russia was the rise, in indignation, of Russia’s regions. While there has been growing tension between Russia’s federal subjects and the federal government for years, 2018 changed the calculation for the Kremlin … Continue reading →

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Looking farther in the near-abroad

Posted on November 19, 2018 by

One of the most amazing stories coming out of Russia this year was, in fact, coming out of somewhere else: Armenia. In April, Serzh Sargsyan, president in 2008-18, attempted to continue ruling the country from the newly empowered position of … Continue reading →

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