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opinion Svetlana Stephenson

How Criminal Culture Has Led Russian Society Toward Militaristic Madness

Why are some Russians willing to give up comfort for the sake of victory over a propaganda-fabricated enemy?

Dmitry Glukhovsky

When Governments Make Immoral Laws, it Is Our Duty to Disobey Them

Russian novelist Dmitry Glukhovsky is being tried in absentia for speaking out against the war.

Putin's ICC Arrest Warrant Is the First Step in Holding Him Accountable

Symbolic as it may seem now, the ICC warrant points to the enormous scale of the abuses committed by Russian forces in Ukraine, for which Putin bears ultimate...

Arnold Khachaturov

Why We Shouldn’t Expect the Russian Economy to Collapse Tomorrow

Expecting Russia's imminent economic collapse would be naive given its vast financial reserves.

James Horncastle

How the Battle for Bakhmut Has Exposed Russia’s Fault Lines

Symbolism is not new to warfare. The problem is when symbolism overtakes sensible strategy.

Alexandra Prokopenko

A Year of War Has Left Russia’s Elites Anchorless and Atomized

With sanctions set to stay, Russia's elites find themselves with little choice but to stay put and wait out the war.

Nigel Gould-Davies

From Authoritarianism to Totalitarianism: How the War Has Changed Russia

The Kremlin's demand for active support, rather than mere acquiescence, marks a fundamental shift in its social contract with the Russian people.

Mikhail Vinogradov

Russia’s Bite No Longer Matches its Bark in Ukraine

While the Kremlin believes de-escalation is unacceptable, its actions are nowhere near as drastic as expected by either its supporters or adversaries....

Farida Rustamova and Maxim Tovkaylo

Alfa Tycoons as Victims? Come On

Alfa Group’s recruitment of opposition figures in its lobbying for sanctions removal appears to have badly backfired.

Michele A. Berdy

A Family History of Not Looking Back

Reflecting on the year since I left Russia — and a century since my grandparents emigrated from the Russian Empire.

Roni Greenfield

Navalny's Policy Shift on Crimea May Be Too Little, Too Late

Alexei Navalny finally appears to have accepted the moral case for returning Crimea to Ukraine, but its future may no longer be Russia's to decide.

Sofia Kosourova

How Late Soviet Satire Set the Tone for Russian State TV Today

The early 90s TV classic "Lenin Was a Mushroom" inadvertently foreshadowed what Russian state media would become.

Andrei Kolesnikov

Russia’s Second, Silent War Against its Human Capital

Russia's failing fight against population decline is due to more than prevailing demographic trends.

William Courtney and Philip Wasielewski

Russia Must End State Terror Before it Can Hope to Gain Freedom

Russia is now more domestically repressive than at any other time in its recent history.

Vlada Stanković

Trapped in Putin's Embrace: Erdogan's Russian Dilemma

Turkey's catastrophic recent earthquake has put a spotlight on the country's close ties with Moscow.

Tatiana Stanovaya

A Fight for Survival: What Victory Looks Like to Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s state-of-the-nation address shed no light on how he intends to win this war.

The West Must Drive a Wedge Between Putin and Russia's Elites

If Russia's elites are not assured a place in the country's future, then it's naive to expect their support in deposing the Kremlin dictator.

Frans Timmermans

Totalitarianism Has Returned to Europe. It Must Be Defeated.

The West must stay the course in Ukraine to prevent totalitarianism from taking hold in Europe, writes European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans...

Russia's Planned Coup in Moldova Reminds Us Why Ukraine Must Win This War

Russia's readiness to interfere in another country's affairs is another example of why it cannot be allowed to win in Ukraine.

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