Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Pressure Mounts In Russian Election Standoff

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:14:04 +0000

Legislators from three normally Kremlin-friendly factions walked out of parliament on October 14 to protest alleged fraud during regional elections three days earlier. They've vowed not to return to work until they meet President Dmitry Medvedev and an inquiry into the fraud charges is launched.

From Prime Minister To President And Back Again, Putin Marks A Decade In Power

Mon, 10 Aug 2009 11:01:54 +0000

What a difference a decade makes. Ten years ago this week, Russia was a collapsing state with a dying president and an economy on life support. Regional leaders were increasingly and openly adopting separatist policies, while a fractious Duma seemed to be in a state of perpetual gridlock. The country and the world barely noticed when President Boris Yeltsin -- on August 9, 1999 -- tapped the colorless and virtually unknown former KGB operative Vladimir Putin as his fifth prime minister in 18 ...

'A National Psychosis'

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:19:15 +0000

RFE/RL's Russian Service correspondent in Chisinau, Irina Severin, outlined the Moldovan elections in a Q&A

Medvedev Unveils Economic Program As Crisis Continues To Bite

Mon, 25 May 2009 12:59:43 +0000

In an unusual move, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev personally presented his annual budget message to government and legislative leaders. He refrained from open criticism of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin or the cabinet while highlighting some of his priority issues. He also conceded the global economic crisis has hit Russia hard.

Moldova's Political Standoff Moves To Presidential Vote

Tue, 19 May 2009 13:27:46 +0000

Lawmakers in Moldova have begun selecting a successor to long-time Communist President Vladimir Voronin. The opposition has vowed to boycott the vote in order to prevent the Communists from electing their candidate. If parliament fails to elect a president, Moldova will face another round of national elections -- and, possibly, more public unrest following last month's mass demonstrations.

Chisinau Unrest Exposes Moldova's Fault Lines

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:05:04 +0000

On April 6 and 7, thousands of mostly young Moldovans erupted into violence to protest the preliminary election results. The storming of the parliament and presidential residence were the first violent political actions in the country's post-Soviet history. As the smoke clears, the country is asking itself how events took such a turn.

Burjanadze's Husband Becomes Focus Of Georgia Political Intrigue

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:16:52 +0000

Georgia's mounting political drama intensified further today when Georgian television aired photographs of the husband of former parliament speaker and opposition leader Nino Burjanadze in Kyiv earlier this month. The pictures showed Burjanadze's husband meeting with a shadowy Georgian oligarch known for his ties to the Moscow government. The new evidence has increased speculation that Moscow is playing an active role in Georgian politics ahead of a major opposition protest scheduled for April ...

Senior U.S. Delegations Hope To 'Reset' U.S.-Russia Relations

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:06:36 +0000

Several high-level delegations of former U.S. officials have been in Moscow for meetings this month aimed at rejuvenating U.S.-Russian relations. But the apparent thaw between Washington and Moscow has raised concerns among some of Russia's neighbors, particularly in Ukraine and Georgia.

Unified Russia Scores Predictable Victories In Regional Elections

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:04:34 +0000

Voters went to the polls in regional and local elections across Russia on March 1, in the first electoral test in the country since the start of Dmitry Medvedev's presidency and the onset of the global economic crisis.

Does Putin, Like Lenin, See Film As 'Most Important Of The Arts'?

Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:28:48 +0000

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is taking on a new role as the head of a government panel on the film industry. Though some filmmakers are pleased by the government's attention, others fear that Putin's oversight means a return to communist-style state command over the country's film production.

Russian Protests A Danger In System Without Safety Valves

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:16:08 +0000

Demonstrations were held in 25 major Russian cities recently to protest a government decision to raise import duties on used automobiles. In Vladivostok, more than 5,000 drivers clogged the streets, in the latest sign of rising social tensions resulting from the economic crisis.

Russian Conservatives Challenge Notion Of 'Universal' Values

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 10:19:10 +0000

Russia has been increasingly assertive in recent months in its demands for a "multipolar" world. To many influential conservatives, this means denying the "universality" of the concept of human rights and arguing that each culture must define rights on the basis of its own traditions and national values.

Kremlin Drives Wedge Into Union Of Rightist Forces

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:25:39 +0000

The split last week of the Union of Rightist Forces and the resignation of its leader came as no surprise. The collapse of the liberal wing of Russian politics since the mid-1990s has been truly staggering, and the latest developments merely signal the completion of that long-running drama. What is surprising, however, is the intense attention the Kremlin has focused on undermining the party, which, after all, got less than 1 percent of the vote in the last Duma elections.

Moscow's Iran Policy A Question Of Balancing Priorities

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:27:45 +0000

When Russia pulled out of a meeting to discuss new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program, it was widely interpreted as a tit-for-tat response to U.S. moves following Moscow's conflict with Georgia. But it also fits into Moscow's overall policy on Iran, a policy that views the Iran dispute as an inseparable part of the larger fabric of global affairs rather than merely as a regional matter or even a security issue.

Russian Petrostate Opens Its Toolbox To Respond To Financial Crisis

Fri, 19 Sep 2008 13:23:06 +0000

The Russian economy faces its most serious challenge since the 1998 default. On the one hand, the financial interests of the governing elite are deeply entangled with those of the state; on the other, the Kremlin must at all costs prevent the effects of the crisis from trickling downward to the general population whose docility is based on the economic stability of the last decade.

Managing The Kremlin's Legitimacy Problem

Thu, 11 Sep 2008 09:49:27 +0000

Despite riding a wave of apparent popularity following the military conflict with Georgia, the Kremlin continues to wrestle with its legitimacy problem. The fact remains that -- despite appeals to nationalism, despite assertions that the country is surrounded by ravenous enemies, despite trumped-up "popular" movements and demonstrations -- Russia's strictly managed democracy is not capable of producing real legitimacy. And the more the seams of that management show, the less ...