Carnegie Moscow Center
Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party received just shy of 50 percent of the vote in the recent elections for Russia’s lower house in parliament, an unexpected blow to the once extremely popular ruler.
It will be increasingly difficult for EU leaders and bureaucrats to continue supporting Vladimir Putin, with the European public opinion growing worried over the situation in Russia and critical of the policy of “pragmatic realism.”
Mikhail Gorbachev reflects on the fall of the Soviet Union, U.S. actions in the last twenty years, and Putin and Medvedev’s roles in Russia today.
The plans of Russia’s ruling elite, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, to retain power face increasing challenges from a crumbling infrastructure, economic stagnation, and growing social unrest.
Russian liberals, like many of their counterparts across Russian society, need to set aside their patronizing attitude toward Ukraine and their longing for the historical might of the Soviet Union.
In advance of the 2012 presidential election, Vladimir Putin seeks to convince the world that the rift between him and incumbent Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is growing. But there is no evidence that any real power is starting to move Medvedev’s way, and he is not ready to challenge Putin.
The Arab revolts are pushing Western governments to reject a pragmatic approach to foreign relations in favor of support for democratic values and human rights, with potentially significant effects on Russia’s relations with the West.
Mikhail Gorbachev is a rare leader who changed not just the history of a single nation, but the history of the world by dismantling the Soviet Communist system and ending the Cold War.
Mikhail Gorbachev deserves recognition for being a leader who changed the world with his willingness to make difficult and unpopular decisions.
As a revolutionary, Boris Yeltsin was ready to go much further than his predecessor, Mikhail Gorbachev. In the end, however, he returned Russia to a system that put power in the hands of a single person and discredited democratic freedoms.