power vertical
Authoritarian Russia: The trajectory of political evolution
Vladimir Gelman on the mechanisms behind the emergence and consolidation of post-Soviet authoritarianism in Russia
Reforms and their substitutes
Vladimir Gel’man on chances for improving the quality of the Russian state
Electoral authoritarianism and the limitations of scientific foresight
Grigorii Golosov on whether it is possible to foresee the collapse of electoral authoritarianism in Russia
How Russians Learned to Stop Dreaming and Love the Past
Vladislav Inozemtsev ponders Russians’ unique fear of the future
The X-Files: How the Russian state is creeping underground
Ivan Tkachev on how the Russian authorities are gradually withdrawing citizens’ access to information
Foolproofing Putinism
Fabian Burkhardt on why Mikhail Mishustin might be one of the most ambitious Prime Ministers in recent Russian history
Russia’s opaque digitalisation
Vladimir Gel’man on how digitalisation should aid public accountability mechanisms in contemporary Russia, but is currently helping to thwart it
The prospects for Putin’s ‘long state’
Alexander Morozov on why Putin has not become an Atatürk for post-Soviet Russia
The split in Putin’s regime
Tatiana Stanovaya on how dreams of greatness can in fact erode the Russian state
Russian Parliamentary Jostling in a Time of Pandemic
Ben Noble has spotted several signs of a “new normal” in the Russian Duma this year, with rumours now hinting at early parliamentary elections
Putin’s fundamental amendment
Mikhail Turchenko unpacks what’s wrong with the constitutional amendments and the popular vote