Thursday 11th March

Tackling Russia’s legal nihilism

Olga Kudeshkina, 11 March 2010
Olga Kudeshkina made headlines in 2004 as the first Russian judge to flag up political interference in the judicial system. Dismissed for her resistance, she took her case to the European Court of Human Rights and won. Kudeshkina outlines the continued political pressure felt by the judiciary and the barriers in the way of President Medvedev’s intentions to reform.
Wednesday 10th March

Grozny: Rebuilt, Fearful and (Almost) Forgotten by the West

Tanya Lokshina, 10 March 2010
Downtown Grozny, Chechnya’s capital, is ablaze with lights and full of chic shops now. But the paralysing fear remains. Human Rights Watch’s Tanya Lokshina and her Memorial colleagues tell a rare visitor from the West about the kidnappings, about the relatives too fearful to complain...
Tuesday 9th March

Dedovshchina: bullying in the Russian Army

Rodric Braithwaite, 9 March 2010
While bullying (see our Soldier’s Tales) is common to all armies, the aberration that is dedovshchina in Russia’s army has a specific history and causes, argues Rodric Braithwaite. Military reform is needed to root it out.

A Soldier's Tale 9: changed, but not utterly dehumanised

Tolya's Letters, 9 March 2010
In his final letter home from the army our conscript Tolya “finds” a mobile phone, is pursued by a mad officer and wonders what kind of man the army’s made of him
Monday 8th March

Women’s day makes a lot of cents

Lisa Surnacheva, 8 March 2010
On Women’s Day in Russia you really get to see what your price tag is

Olympean blow at the Kremlin

Dmitry Travin, 8 March 2010
Russian national pride has been badly dented by poor performance at the winter Olympics. It is being widely read as a political failure, reflecting the effects of corruption, and a regime which promotes PR over professionalism
Friday 5th March

Partition Ukraine? I think not

Adrian Karatnycky, 5 March 2010
It is irresponsible to fan the flames of partition as Ethan Burger does in his openDemocracy article ”Could partition solve Ukraine’s problem?” Neither the facts nor opinion polls support such wild speculation, says Adrian Karatnycky
Wednesday 3rd March

So what do Russia’s people think?

Alexei Levinson, 3 March 2010
In the first of his regular monthly reports for odRussia, Alexei Levinson of Russia’s prestigious Levada Centre offers a round-up of Russian public opinion at the start of 2010. Even when the economic crisis lead people to judge their government, he notes, approval of Prime Minister Putin remained high. Nor do people seem particularly bothered by Russia’s imaginary elections
Tuesday 2nd March

Stepan Bandera: a divisive national icon

Roman Kabachiy, 2 March 2010
Viktor Yushchenko has left his successor a ticking time bomb. His name is Stepan Bandera. Should Yanukovych strip him of the official status of hero, which he has been accorded?
Monday 1st March

Life and death of an independent newspaper in Oryol

Elena Godlevskaya, 1 March 2010
In 2004, some local journalists in Oryol founded an independent newspaper ‘for those who want the truth’. Although it sold well, members of staff were subject to threats, bribes, attacks and arson. Still, it lasted four years.
Friday 26th February

Saving the Amur tiger

Mumin Shakirov, 26 February 2010
With the Amur tiger population facing extinction, organisations from Russia and abroad have been working to save them. They don’t always agree as to how this should be done. Then there are the politics, Mumin Shakirov observes. Perhaps the Year of the Tiger will be auspicious for the Amur big cats…
Thursday 25th February

Netanyahu and the sanctioning of Iran

Thomas S Evans, 25 February 2010
Israel’s attempt to rally support for energy sanctions against Iran look like failing, for good reason. They would be likely to work to the detriment of the West’s and Israel’s goals.

Drug crisis on Russia’s borders

Elena Strelnikova, 25 February 2010
Russia’s drugs problem has reached crisis point in Orenburg Region. It borders on Central Asia and is used as a transit point. Government measures against trafficking and addiction are hampered by lack of money and official attitudes
Wednesday 24th February

A Soldier’s Tale 8: violence is no joke

Tolya's Letters, 24 February 2010
Our conscript Tolya continues his study of violence in his airborne division of the Russian army
Tuesday 23rd February

Ukraine: preserving nationhood

Valery Kalnysh, 23 February 2010
Russian-Ukrainian ties may have deteriorated during Yushchenko’s presidency, but his successor Yanukovych is determined to redress that balance. It is crucial that Ukrainians continue to feel they are a sovereign nation, maintains Valery Kalnysh.
Monday 22nd February

IKEA in Russia: Now 'Everything is Possible'...for a price

Jesse Heath, 22 February 2010
IKEA, which has publicly railed against corruption in Russia, has itself been caught paying bribes there. Could President Medvedev's anti-corruption campaign really turn Russia into a place where foreigners can do business, wonders Jesse Heath?
Friday 19th February

Remembering Chekhov in Yalta

Rosamund Bartlett, 19 February 2010
On the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Chekhov’s birth, his English biographer Rosamund Bartlett celebrates the writer’s last days in Yalta, and leads the campaign to restore his house

Could partition solve Ukraine’s problems?

Ethan S. Burger, 19 February 2010
In the light of Ukraine’s election result, Ethan S. Burger offers a proposal for the creation of a new Ukrainian state. Partition would do more than better reflect the country’s national/ethnic composition, he suggests. It could also make the country economically viable, while enhancing European stability.
Thursday 18th February

The return of realpolitik: a view from Georgia

Alexander Rondeli, 18 February 2010
The promise of an international order based on principle rather than the exercise of power is exposed as an occidentalist illusion by Russian actions towards Georgia, says Alexander Rondeli.

The case for pragmatism: a view from Estonia

Rein Müllerson, 18 February 2010
The complex realities of international politics make a wise and patient foreign-policy approach the only sensible one - especially for Russia’s smaller neighbours, says Rein Müllerson.
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