Tag Archives: Politics

TODAY: Sporadic protests ongoing in Moscow; 30 more arrested; US and Human Rights Watch express concerns.  Medvedev approved as Prime Minister; Putin scorns parliamentary opposition; plays hockey; UK rights report finds violations; Victory Day celebrated in Moscow Moscow police have detained about thirty participants of an unsanctioned peaceful protest against Putin’s return to the presidency [...]

In the Washington Post analyst Masha Lipman has offered her views on how Vladimir Putin has maintained his stranglehold over Russia’s body politic for more than a decade.  It is, to her mind, the result of an unspoken contract with the Russian populace, which she explains in the extract below, a contract which is starting [...]

TODAY: Putin preaches unity and democracy in inauguration address; hundreds of protestors arrested in second day of Moscow protests; Navalny and Udaltsov re-arrested; ongoing opposition turbulence presents major chink in President’s armor, analysts argue; Medvedev for PM. Vladimir Putin has been inaugurated in his third term as President at a ceremony (which can be viewed [...]

The palace gleamed, the guns blasted, the applause thundered. For those of you who have not as of yet seen Putin’s pomp-ridden but somewhat peremptory inauguration ceremony this morning, you can do so here.  Yesterday of course, Moscow’s streets played host to a rather different spectacle than that of the President’s sleek motorcade.  Ten of [...]

TODAY: Clashes at Moscow anti-Putin protest attended by up to 120,000; tear gas used to disperse protestors; up to 600 arrested; Navalny, Nemtsov and Udalstov among them. Independent news websites blocked; gay campaigner fined; navy chief ousted.  Putin’s inauguration day Yesterday’s opposition March of a Million rally in Moscow, which attracted between 30,000 and 120,000 [...]

Weakened, conflicted, cautious: all adjectives used to describe Vladimir Putin on the eve his re-inauguration as President in this article from the Washington Post.  The Prime Minister has, analysts argue, almost insurmountable toils ahead of him if he wishes to compete with a newly distrustful electorate, the burgeoning opposition class, and perhaps most worryingly – [...]

As this week ends, so the sun sets on the presidency of Dmitry Medvedev.  A plethora of articles have surfaced this week analyzing his legacy, most of which read rather like a litany of disappointments.  This one from the New York Times considers how the lawyer will fare as Prime Minister and as head of [...]

TODAY: Russia retains hard line stance on ABM in Europe at Moscow talks; Putin offers aid to Ukraine’s Tymoshenko; opposes soccer boycott. Moscow authorities allow 5000 attendees for March of a Million; Pussy Riot members castigated in prison; probe into journalist attack.  Medvedev raises eyebrows by honoring Churov; signs law on protecting rights of disabled; [...]

Last week Vladimir Putin finally reached the end of his tether with the Guardian’s Miriam Elder after she dared to impugn the efficiency of Russia’s dry cleaning establishments (amongst other things).  Today he has lashed out again, this time launching a West-bashing defense of the hallowed domain of soccer: Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin signaled on [...]