Russia

November 11, 2010

A Decorative Element of the Russian Facade

The Los Angeles Times has published a very interesting – and at times incendiary – interview with the 93-year-old theater director Yuri Lyubimov, famous for his adaptation of Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita and other visionary Ru...
November 11, 2010

Video: Magnitsky Documentary Debuts for One-Year Anniversary

A documentary film on the murder of Sergei Magnitsky by corrupt officials within the Russian government is debuting on the 16th of November with special screenings across several European parliaments and the U.S. House of Representatives.  Se...
November 11, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Nov 11, 2010

TODAY: Kashin, Beketov, and Domnikov cases handed to Investigative Committee; Beketov convicted; police say Adamchuk staged his own beating; Surkov in the spotlight, legal nihilism, Republican denounces attacks on journalists; Medvedev m...
November 10, 2010

RA’s Daily Russian News Blast – Nov 10, 2010

TODAY: Canada mulls sanctions on Magnitsky suspects; Mironov defends direct elections; Medvedev praises the economic advantages of democracy. Outcry over Kashin beating continues; journalist to face slander charges; Russia, nation of smokers The U...
November 9, 2010

Grigory Pasko: Russia Shuffles its Prison Officials

In August of this year, President Dmitry Medvedev sent into retirement the chiefs of the main administrations of the FSIN [the Federal Service for the Execution of Punishments, formerly known as GULag, the agency responsible for running the prison...
November 9, 2010

Stephen F. Cohen, the Gulag, and Stalin

Academic and author Stephen F. Cohen speaks with Mark Guiducci of Vanity Fair about his new book on the survivors of Russia’s gulags.  Apart from describing his fascinating encounters with his KGB handlers during the research for this b...
November 8, 2010

Violence against Journalists Goes Mainstream in Russia

Charles Glover of the Financial Times on the near-fatal beating of journalist Oleg Kashin. Irina Petrovskaya, a prominent commentator, said: “We all know only too well how such loud and resonant cases like the murder or attempted murder of a...
November 8, 2010

Grigory Pasko: Debating the Khodorkovsky Verdict

At the trial of the former owners of the Russian oil company YUKOS the procurators – the party of the state prosecution have completed their appearances in the final submissions. That is, the decreeing of the verdict of the judges of the Kha...
November 8, 2010

FSB Threatens Wikileaks

Sure, this is not a criminal state.  A not-so-subtle threat from the FSB following the announcement that the Wikileaks website would publish a number of scandalous documents relating to corruption within the Russian government. From TIME: So ...
November 8, 2010

Oleg Kashin and Investigatory Ineptness

Julia Ioffe has a blog post up detailing some of the horrifying details of the inept investigation into the brutally violent beating of Kommersant journalist Oleg Kashin. Kashin’s friends report that the preliminary investigation was shoddy ...