Carnegie Moscow Center
The very idea of early mayoral elections was meant to strengthen positions of authorities in elections to the Moscow city Duma next year. It worked the opposite way.
The post-Moscow-election situation, rather than consolidating the support for, and legitimacy of the system, has generated new uncertainties.
Sergey Sobyanin scored only a relative victory in the Moscow mayoral election. Alexey Navalny was the real winner: he established himself as an opposition politician of national scale.
Delivering arms to the conflicting sides, carrying out a unilateral, irresponsible strike, or blocking the work of the UNSC can only multiply the violence in Syria.
China has begun to play a more active, innovative role in international affairs and has adopted a new global perspective.
With the U.S. strikes against Syria announced also with Iran in mind, and Moscow and Tehran acting as de facto allies in Syria, the meeting between Putin and Rowhani at the SCO summit will be important.
The September 8 election and its aftermath may become a watershed for developing Russia’s party and political system.
The September 8 regional elections in Russia will continue the transition from stability, with a domination of Putin and the United Russia, to a new political arrangement and a greater uncertainty.
Though Putin purported to oppose any attempt to hijack the economic agenda of the G-20, he succeeded in setting the stage for a critical debate on U.S. foreign policy with the global leaders.
Azerbaijan, like all of Syria’s regional neighbors, is affected by the ongoing civil war there.
During 2013 election campaign the Kremlin being faced with serious challenges is trying to react and to preserve the system by making some improvements—not in order to make citizens happy but in order to survive.
Barack Obama has made a decision to “punish” Bashar Assad with a quick strike. Is taking on the role of the Supreme Arbiter and usurping the right to punish someone acceptable?
Even before the G20 summit’s formal opening its failure was predictable. Too many factors will make constructive dialogue between the United States and Russia impossible.
This year, the mayoral race in Moscow is more than just a return of politics—with anti-establishment candidate Alexey Navalny on the ballot, this campaign has triggered a repoliticization of the Russian society.
The impending G20 summit may well become a good occasion to usher in a process to build a mutually agreed-upon mechanism and rules to resolve conflicts.
The administration of Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan embraced a Russian takeover of the nation’s economy that left political control in Armenian hands. As Sargsyan began to have second thoughts about this bargain, he found himself short of options.
During the G20 summit, the world leaders need to tackle serious economic challenges. At the same time, the abrupt halt to a scheduled U.S.-Russia summit and a potential intervention in Syria have pushed security issues to the top of the summit’s agenda.
Syria is the last test when the liberal community of states can demonstrate whether as a civilization it is still capable of overcoming lethargy and defending the principles it has been declaring as its mission.
Instead of reforming the old world order, the global powers are busy establishing new institutions with unclear powers that no one really knows how to use.
Moving away from the standard agenda may help the United States and Russia exit the current impasse in bilateral relations and avoid a long period of stagnation and hostilities.