Staunton, September 1 – All the residents of the Mari El village of Maly Shaplak have decided to protest the fact that the Russian postal service has not delivered mail to them or to neighboring villages for more than a year by deciding not to take part in the upcoming elections. The authorities are ignoring […]
Staunton, June 3 – On June 3, the unpopular appointed governor of Karelia orchestrated a vote by the Petrozavodsk city council against that city’s popular elected mayor, the latest development in what is an ever-intensifying struggle between governors and mayors in Russia’s regions and republics over just how “power verticals” at the regional level are […]
Staunton, February 19 – The situation in and around Russia is now changing with such dizzying rapidity that it is all but impossible to keep up, given the overriding need to focus on Vladimir Putin’s continuing aggression in Ukraine. But many, small and large, are worth watching because of the potential each of them has […]
Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous issue is here, and see also our Russia This Week stories ‘Anti-Maidan’ Launched by Nationalists, Cossacks, Veterans, Bikers and The Guild War – How Should Journalists Treat Russian State […]
Staunton, May 23 – A suggestion by Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov that “federal districts should not necessarily coincide with the borders of Russian regions” appears to be gaining traction in Moscow, the latest in a long line of proposals dating at least to Khrushchev’s time to weaken Russia’s oblasts, krays, and republics. According to Prokhorov, […]
Staunton, April 4 – Activists in Khabarovsk Territory, Tver Region, and Vologda Region are responding to Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea by calling for the central Russian government to “join” their territories to Russia so that they do can benefit from the center’s largesse, have higher living standards, and escape from local authoritarian rulers. These […]
