What can, and should, result from this moment of tragedy is a full appraisal of Nemtsov’s work and the fate of the liberal opposition. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Alexei Navalny
What did we learn from Putin’s year-end press conference?
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, is staking his future on a narrative of ‘Us’ – the Russian people – versus ‘Them’ – NATO and the West. Ryan Steele explains how Putin used his annual press conference to exploit support for an assertive response to Western sanctions. Besides the oft-quoted rhetorical quips, such as comparing Russia to … Continue reading
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The news to 17 November 2013 Efforts by the EU to negotiate a settlement to the row over Yulia Tymoshenko’s imprisonment continued, as politicians emphasised the importance of Ukraine signing an Association Agreement at the Vilnius Summit in a week’s time. Sweden’s Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, said that Ukraine’s hopes of greater integration with Europe … Continue reading
Interview: Moscow in unusual circumstances
On Tuesday we published an interview with former Times correspondent, Tony Halpin on his experiences of journalism in Eastern Europe. In this second part, we turn our focus to the extraordinary events of 2011 to 2012. Josh Black conducted the interview. Were the 2011 and 2012 protests as surprising as they seemed? Yes, I think they … Continue reading
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The news to 21 October 2013 Alexei Navalny, the Moscow mayoral candidate and anti-corruption campaigner, was given a suspended sentence following a conviction for fraud. The charge, widely seen as politically motivated, had been seen as a way of silencing Navalny, but defeat in an apparently honest municipal in Moscow gave the regime a degree … Continue reading
The Vostok Report
The news to 8 September 2013 The government’s candidate won mayoral elections in Moscow, with an expected 52% of the popular vote. Turnout, however, appeared significantly lower than in previous elections, at around 30%. Opposition candidate, Alexei Navalny, won between 29-32% of the vote – a better than expected showing. With a prison sentence due … Continue reading
The Vostok Report
The news to 1 September 2013 Four paintings by Russian artist Konstantin Altunin have been confiscated by the police in St. Petersburg for unspecified reasons. One of them shows Russian president Vladimir Putin in women’s underwear. The artist has left the country to seek political asylum in France. Source: BBC News One of Russia’s richest … Continue reading
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The news to 11 August 2013. President Obama on Wednesday cancelled next month’s Moscow summit meeting, ending for now his signature effort to transform Russian-American relations and potentially dooming his aspirations for further nuclear arms cuts before leaving office. The immediate cause was Russia’s decision to grant temporary asylum to Edward J. Snowden, the former … Continue reading
Interview: Professor Bill Bowring
Bill Bowring is Professor of Law at Birkbeck College, and his new book, Law, Rights and Ideology in Russia, has recently been published by Routledge. He is also a practicing barrister with wide-ranging experience of taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights. In part one of a two-part interview, Josh Black and P. … Continue reading
The Vostok Report
The news to 22 July. Photo sourced from DBDuophotography Less than 24 hours after his embezzlement conviction, Aleksei Navalny, was released from custody. The Russian opposition leader is free to run as a Moscow mayoral candidate until his appeal has been heard. Source: The New York Times The US–Russia standoff over former security contractor Edward … Continue reading
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