Tag: State Duma

Russian Nationalist Calls For Partition Of Belarus

March 17, 2015

Staunton, March 16 — A Russian nationalist with a long track record of hatred toward Belarus says that, on the basis of the logic Moscow has used to annex Crimea, Moscow should take back the portions now within the borders of the Belarusian Republic that were once part of the RSFSR. Not only does his […]

Putin’s Regional Amalgamation Plan Faces Court Challenge

March 11, 2015

Staunton, March 9 – Vladimir Putin’s plans to amalgamate smaller non-Russian federal subjects with larger and predominantly ethnic Russian regions, plans that have been on hold since 2008, is being challenged by a Perm activist who wants the Russian Supreme Court to overturn the inclusion of Komi-Permyak Autonomous Province into the new Perm region. The […]

Murderers Of Opposition Figures In Russia Rarely Caught, Those Behind Them Almost Never

Staunton, March 9 – In the increasingly Orwellian world that is Vladimir Putin’s Russia, one in which the lie is the truth, it is important to remember that “with rare exceptions,” the murders of those the authorities don’t like are “not solved. Sometimes, those who carried the out are found, but those who ordered them […]

Moscow Is the Largest Muslim City In Europe, Russian Parliamentarian Says

December 17, 2014

Staunton, December 14 – Vyacheslav Nikonov, chairman of the Russian Duma education committee and head of the Russian World Foundation, told a Muslim forum in the Russian capital that “Moscow is not only the largest Islamic city in Russia but also the city with the largest Muslim population in Europe.” Speaking to the 10th International […]

Under Putin, ‘Gerrymandering’ Enters the Russian Vocabulary

December 5, 2014

Staunton, December 5 – The process by which a government draws the electoral map in such a way that the number of its opponents in parliament will be minimized, long known in the West as “gerrymandering,” has now come to Russia in a big way and is being employed by Moscow for exactly the same […]

Russia This Week: Four Americans Expelled from Chuvashia (April 21-26)

April 26, 2014

Updated Daily. The Russian parliament has passed a number of laws designed to rein in an increasingly free and outspoken blogosphere, lately filled with criticism of Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. Legislators have passed a law mandating bloggers with more than 3,000 readers to register as mass media under the restrictive Russian press law. If dissenters […]

Russian State Duma Asks West To Not Interfere in Ukraine

January 24, 2014

On Wednesday the State Duma issued a statement on the events in Ukraine. As the Russian Foreign Minister did the day before, the deputies called on external forces to refrain from interfering in what is happening and to not aggravate the situation. “The State Duma calls on foreign politicians, who in violation of international law […]

Indifference and Cruelty in Russia, from the Street to the Duma

September 17, 2013

There are things you cannot eliminate by changing the regime, boycotting the Winter Olympics in Sochi, or imposing international sanctions. These are human cruelty, indifference to others, and ignorance. In Russia, cruelty, indifference and ignorance are commonplace. Some people get used to them, others end up tolerating them. You will always come across someone who will find pleasure in humiliating, offending […]