Carnegie Moscow Center
A new procedure in Russia’s gubernatorial elections that allows the party dominating the regional legislature to nominate gubernatorial candidates only perpetuates the worst problems of the previous system of appointments.
Although Prime Minister Putin’s eighth annual call-in show was much livelier than the typical state television coverage of the government’s public policy, it will take much more than a yearly show to establish a genuine two-way dialogue between the government and the people.
President Medvedev's recent annual address reveals a political style characterized by sharp and wide-ranging criticisms, rhetorical flourishes, and the absence of a bridge between his strategic plans and his concrete proposals.
President Obama’s trip to Asia will signal renewed U.S. commitment to this vitally important region. Perhaps the most important stop will be in China, where Obama will seek to ease lingering strategic distrust and discuss key issues of trade, climate change, and security.
The Russian perception of Stalin and his crimes has more to do with the nature of Russian statehood than with the monstrous actions of the man himself.
A new system has been implemented for naming the candidate for a gubernatorial post in Russia; the fate of 10 percent of the governors hangs in the balance.
Municipal elections held in Russia on October 11 proved that most Russian voters seem to feel that elections have no direct bearing on their lives and that the authorities feel no impetus to institute change in the current Russian party system.
Under Russian President Medvedev, the Kremlin’s efforts to develop and execute concrete solutions to Russia’s many challenges have been replaced by a constant stream of polemical sound bites and vague slogans.
Scientific and technological progress will not, on their own, lead to improvements in the political realm. The economy cannot be effective if the political system is insufficiently free.
Stalin’s growing popularity in Russia is less a function of an organized state propaganda effort to promote him than it is a result of the government’s lack of interest in setting the historical record straight on Stalin. Attention is increasingly focused on the greatness of the country and its achievements under Stalin’s rule.