The most noteworthy events of December 2012 were the adoption, by the U.S. Congress, of the so-called ‘Magnitsky Law,’ whereby sanctions were introduced against the Russian officials directly involved in human rights violations; and the passing, by the RF State Duma, of a retaliatory...

In October, for the first time after an eight-year ‘break’, gubernatorial elections were held in Russia. The revival of gubernatorial elections by no means implies a revival of competition at the regional level – existing legislation ensures that this should not be allowed. At the same...

Russian Abstract: Майская экономическая статистика демонстрирует продолжение и развитие негативных тенденций, обозначившихся еще в апреле: несмотря на...

Russian Abstract: Начавшееся в апреле и продолжившееся в мае снижение темпов инфляции в годовом выражении связано с одновременным действием нескольких факторов –...

The socio-political situation in February was shaped by the escalating conflicts within this country's elite. The State Duma was shaken by scandals that resulted from the exposure of the ownership, by certain eminent representatives of the party in power, of real estate abroad that they had...

The beginning of 2013 was marked by yet another outburst of opposition-led protest activity in Moscow, this time unexpectedly strong: according to different sources, between 20 and 50 thousand people took part in the March Against Scoundrels, which was aimed against the ‘Anti-Magnitsky Law'...

Roman Panov (who was consequently arrested), the top managers of Rostelecom, and the former topmost officials from the RF Ministry of Agriculture. The active coverage of these scandalous developments by the mass media indicates that the authorities are eager to boost their popularity by...

The beginning of the autumn was marked by an onset of fundamental conflicts in the ranks of the new Russian government and by some fresh signs of political reaction fomented in the State Duma by United Russia deputies. President Putin publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the federal...

Political and economic environment: a strong-arm approach Russia's diplomatic and information efforts on the eve of signing a Euro-Ukrainian association agreement should be considered the key topic of the political and economic environment in November 2013