Robert Coalson is a senior correspondent for RFE/RL who covers Russia, the Balkans, and Eastern Europe.
A 23-year-old blogger was given a 10-month labor sentence this month for a social-media video that Russian authorities say amounted to “rehabilitating Nazism.” Experts say the law is being used to impose public conformity with the government’s jingoistic version of World War II history.
Longtime dissident Aleksandr Skobov is being held in St. Petersburg on a charge of "justifying terrorism." The 66-year-old, who spent years in psychiatric hospitals in Soviet times, makes no apologies for his outspoken opposition to Vladimir Putin. And he has no intention of backing down now.
Central Asian migrants in Russia have been the main targets in a surge of xenophobic incidents following the terrorist attack on a concert hall outside Moscow. But the country's ethnic minorities – numbering some 30 million people – are also bracing for the worst.
Of the more than 90,000 polling stations across Russia, RFE/RL has identified only three that reported a winner other than President Vladimir Putin – and one of them later changed its results. In one of the cases, it appears state efforts to boost turnout may have backfired.
Thousands of Russians joined the "Noon Against Putin" protest, and there were isolated acts of defiance during the voting. But the opposition is still sidelined under Vladimir Putin, struggling to counter the Kremlin's narrative of a country united behind his policies of aggression and repression.
Since the last presidential election in 2018, President Vladimir Putin has marched Russia faster than ever into authoritarianism. In the March 15-17 vote set to hand Putin a fifth term, the question is not who will win but what it will mean for the country and beyond.
It was his longest state-of-the-nation speech, coming just two weeks before Russians vote in an election in which he is set to win a new six-year term. Putin's address was heavy on domestic policy concerns, with ample saber-rattling and bellicose threats sprinkled in.
It may not contain surprises, but Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual address to a joint session of parliament on February 29 will set the tone for the weeks before a March 15-17 election -- and for the start of his fifth term in the Kremlin.
The number of Russians in custody over political stances or religious faith has been rising steadily, particularly since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Activists say the authorities use harsh conditions, the deprivation of medical treatment, and isolation to ruthlessly erode their health.
Days after Aleksei Navalny’s death in prison, his widow, Yulia, pledged to continue his fight against Vladimir Putin, urging Russians to share her “anger.” But amid the most severe repressions since Stalin’s time and the ongoing war against Ukraine, can Navalnaya find a way to make a difference?
Russian opposition activist Aleksei Navalny was an unyielding Putin critic who was noted for his courage and his devotion to nonviolent resistance and democracy. Through years of persecution and prison, his message to Russians stayed the same: "I am not afraid, and you shouldn’t be either."
Russian opposition activist Aleksei Navalny: an unyielding Putin critic noted for his courage and his devotion to nonviolent resistance and democracy. Through years of persecution and prison, his message to Russians has stayed the same: “I am not afraid, and you shouldn’t be either.”
Former lawmaker Boris Nadezhdin's attempt to challenge longtime President Vladimir Putin in a March election has proven unexpectedly popular, with people lining up to endorse his bid. But will he be allowed on the ballot? The Kremlin faces a dilemma over what comes next.
January 25 marks 100 days since the arrest in Russia of RFE/RL journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. Facing the prospect of years in prison, she writes from jail: “We live now; we won't have any 'other' time. What have we done today?"
The ongoing protests in Bashkortostan demonstrate a potentially volatile mixture of personal, regional, and national politics that could be difficult for President Vladimir Putin's highly centralized system to manage against the background of Russia's war against Ukraine.
In recent days, both St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov and President Vladimir Putin have made comments about gender-neutral toilets in foreign countries, elevating claims of a culture war with the West over mounting public concerns about the consequences of Russia's real war against Ukraine.
Although Soviet dictator Josef Stalin died 70 years ago, his presence seems ubiquitous in the increasingly authoritarian Russia of Vladimir Putin. “We are definitely living inside Stalin’s legacy, where the main things are fear, atomization, submission, and other social evils,” a commentator wrote.
There were no mass demonstrations or brutal crackdowns in Russia in 2023. Instead, using a web of vague laws, President Vladimir Putin’s security forces methodically eliminated dissenting voices and sowed fear throughout society.
Ruslan Akhmetshin, a former coordinator for Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny in Arkhangelsk, describes his 30 months in custody, from the "inhumane conditions" of pretrial detention to the dismay he felt upon his release from prison earlier this month.
With all political opposition eliminated and Russia firmly in the grip of what analysts call “mature authoritarianism,” the country prepares for a March presidential vote devoid of competition and, if the Kremlin has its way, ushers Vladimir Putin into another six-year term without surprises.
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