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opinion Vita Spivak

What Does China’s Energy Crisis Mean for Russia?

China’s energy infrastructure is simply not yet ready for Beijing’s concerted efforts to curb emissions, which opens up new opportunities for Russian...

Michele A. Berdy

This is How We Roll in Russian

What stocking up, throwing a fit, and rolling up your sleeves have in common.

Scapegoating Russia Over Our Gas Problems Is Not the Answer

The gas crisis is a fitting metaphor for the challenges of the modern world: complex, global, hard to fix and likely to have long and unpredictable impacts...

Alexander Etkind

Alexei Navalny’s Chance Will Come

The Kremlin critic embodies the same values as previous imprisoned winners — even if the Nobel committee looked elsewhere, this time.

Andrei Kolesnikov

Why Not Navalny? Nobel Committee Honors Journalists Over Politicians

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to someone who personifies freedom of speech: something that is crucial to prevent Navalny from remaining in an...

Michele A. Berdy

Who Is To Blame For Everything in Russian?

Apologizing seems easy in Russian, but there are some tricky bits.

Who Cares About the Pandora Papers?

The sorry truth would seem to be that by now no one is either surprised nor mobilized by the Pandora revelations.

Despite Repression and Covid, Russia Can Look to the Future

A vibrant new compilation of essays, art and fiction presents visions of what lies ahead.

Merkel’s Legacy, as Seen From Russia

Angela Merkel’s long tenure was a period of relative, if not always palatable, predictability in German-Russian relations.

Michele A. Berdy

Neither Russian Fish nor Russian Fowl

When do you use ни and when do you use не? I made up some (silly sounding) rules to help you out.

Andrei Kortunov

Should Russia Be Worried by the New AUKUS Alliance?

Decisions made by NATO may be unpalatable for Moscow, but they are generally consistent and predictable. The same cannot be said of alliances like AUKUS...

Kremlin Looks to Establish a ‘Techno-Authoritarian’ Power Vertical 2.0

Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has the ambition to manage Russia and sees the country's future in a smoothly-operating government machine.

MHI7 Next of Kin Statements Show Dignity in Monster Trial

The bereaved are unified in their determination to find truth and justice.

Michele A. Berdy

Two Minuses Make a Plus in Russian

Today I focus on one of my favorite things about Russian - the double negative.

Why the Kremlin Isn’t Celebrating the Duma Election Results

The president did what he could to boost United Russia’s campaign, but the elections were still marred with controversy.

Zapad 2021: What We Learned From Russia's Massive Military Drills

Zapad is not just military theater, it affirms that years of defense modernization and reform have made the Russian military a force with increased capability...

Dzianis Melyantsou

Have Moscow and Minsk Really Made a Breakthrough on Integration?

Putting too much pressure on Belarus right now could backfire and lead to unforeseen consequences, something Russia appears to understand.

Andrei Soldatov

We Can No Longer Expect Google and Apple to Fight for Internet Freedom

Since the backlash over Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election, global tech giants have become replaceable parts of national infrastructure.

Tatyana Stanovaya

How the Duma Elections Could Decide United Russia’s Fate

The upcoming Duma elections could turn out to be United Russia’s farewell tour in its current lineup.

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