Tag Archives: siloviki

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

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Instead of a requiem*

Many articles, opinion pieces, alas, even political obituaries have been published in the past couple of days on Vladislav Surkov, the former ‘grey cardinal’ of Russian politics who was swiftly dismissed after a public spat with the Investigative Committee over … Continue reading

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A permanent front line?

April can easily become a turning point in Russian politics. Оn 17 April, next Wednesday Dmitry Medvedev will address the State Duma to present the achievements of his government in the past year. He has all reasons to feel uncomfortable: … Continue reading

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Clan War II

Would Vladimir Putin be willing to admit large-scale electoral fraud in order to call early elections and redraw the political map of Russia? Would he be willing to sacrifice key deputies from the United Russia party, accusing them with corruption, … Continue reading

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Reset or upgrade?

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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The kompromat bubble

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

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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