Reflections on Putin’s Rise to Power
Suddenly, something in the mysterious and unpredictable realm of Russia looks not merely predictable but destined to happen. It is almost embarrassing to analysts, who are used to the bubbling…
Posts by tag
Russia
2411 posts
Southern Russia: The Heartland or Russia’s Soft Underbelly?
Southern Russia is undoubtedly of strategic importance. Its figures are not too impressive: with about 13% of Russia's total population, the region produces 15.5% of the country's agriculture and just…
The Case for Assisting Russian NGOs
The last year has not been a happy one for Russian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The government has forced them to undergo an expensive process of reregistration, introduced legislation that would…
Hobbling Along: Russian Banking Reform
In the aftermath of Russia's August 1998 financial crisis, many observers hoped that genuine reform and restructuring would occur in the Russian banking sector. Unfortunately, almost a year and a…
Russia’s Nationalist Consolidation: Love it or Leave it?
More than sixty years ago, Russia experienced a radical ideological transition that in some respects strikingly resembles the processes taking place today. In the late twenties, Communist ideology in Russia…
Russia and the European Union: The Northern Dimension
Relations between Russia and the European Union (EU) are based on three main pillars: the Partnership and Cooperation Act (PCA) of 1994, the Common Strategy of the European Union on…
Power as Patronage: Russian Parties and Russian Democracy
"These elections are not about issues, they are about power." During the Russian parliamentary elections in December 1999 any number of people could claim this statement. This characterization–along with the…
The Limited Reach of Russia’s Party System: Under-Institutionalization in the Provinces
With the 1999 elections to the State Duma completed and a new president recently elected, a Russian party system, although fragile, is perceptible. Party factions are active and somewhat enduring…
Supporting Democratic Institutions Rather than ‘democrats’ in Russia
In the period leading up to Vladimir Putin's decisive victory in the first round of Russia's presidential election, individual personalities and not democratic institutions once more became the focus of…
Will Russia Go for a Military Victory in Chechnya?
Six full weeks after the December 1999 parliamentary elections, Russian troops managed to raise their flags over the familiar ruins of the presidential palace in Grozny. Victory has been proclaimed…