RFE/RL Russia Report
5/1/2012 1:49:55 PM
A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about domestic and foreign-policy developments in Russia.
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Freedom House Survey Suggests Fewest People In A Decade Enjoying A Free Press
A new report by U.S.-based pro-democracy group Freedom House says just one in six people around the world enjoys a free press -- the lowest percentage in more than a decade. More 
Russian Activist Says No Official Explanation Given For Detention
An activist opposed to Vladimir Putin's continued rule says authorities have offered no official explanation for why he was detained after he attempted to pray for Russia's liberation from president-elect at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow. More 
Activists Predict Rise In Gay Asylum Claims Amid 'Propaganda' Ban
In March, a law banning homosexual "propaganda" was approved in Russia's second-largest city, St. Petersburg. While the coming months will tell how the ban will be applied, experts are already predicting that more gay and lesbian Russians will be pushed to seek asylum in the West. More 
Russian 'Titanic' 'Survivor's' Claim Was Too Good To Be True
The Russian press has frequently profiled the remarkable story of Murzakan Kuchiev, a North Ossetian man, born in 1890, whose family claimed he had survived the "Titanic" disaster. But one of the world's preeminent researchers on the century-old shipping disaster says Kuchiev's "Titanic" tale is almost certainly not true. More 
Podcast: Vladimir Putin's Historical Heroes
Vladimir Putin has plucked several role models from Russian history. Do any of them help us understand the man and his governing style? More 
Battle With Moscow Mayor's Office Illustrates Russia's New Politics
It turns out that you can fight City Hall -- even in Moscow. A former English teacher who won a seat in one of Moscow's district councils appears to be winning her fight against plans for a construction project that would destroy a historic local park. Her quest illustrates the changing nature of Russian politics as newly elected opposition politicians flex their muscles at the local level. More 
Saakashvili Ready To 'Resign' For Separatist Regions
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili says he is willing to resign if Russian troops withdraw from Georgia's two separatist regions. Saakashvili says he is even ready to mutilate himself in return for Abkhazia and South Ossetia. More 
Ban Says Syria Violating Peace Plan
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says Syria is not complying with the UN-backed peace plan to end more than a year of bloodshed. More 
UN To Russia: Protect Cultural Rights
The United Nations' special rapporteur on cultural rights has called on Russia to better protect the diversity of its citizens and their ability to participate in cultural life. More 
Chechen Leaders Slam Proposed Creation Of Shari'a Courts
Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov and Chechen mufti Sultan-hadji Mirzayev have both harshly criticized the proposal by Chechen legal scholar Dagir Khasavov to establish Shari'a courts in Russia for the benefit of those Russian Muslims who do not want to “get bogged down in the Russian legal system,” which they do not trust. More 
Russia's Plastic Surgery Disasters
Valeria Lukyanova is a model from Ukraine who claims to be the "most famous Russian woman on the Russian-speaking Internet." More 
The End Of The Party
Russia's party system is falling apart. And this is a symptom of a larger crisis in the system of managed democracy. More 
Scuffle Erupts In Georgian Parliament Over Armenian Genocide Issue
A scuffle broke out in the Georgian parliament on April 24 after a deputy suggested that the country consider recognizing the World War I-era Armenian massacres as genocide. Unfortunately, the session was attended by a group of schoolchildren who had come for a lesson on civic education. More 
Russia Restores Vote For Governors
Russia's State Duma has passed by a narrow margin a Kremlin bill restoring popular gubernatorial elections. More 
Tajik-Russia Military Talks Continue
Russia and Tajikistan are continuing talks over the future of Russian troops in Tajikistan. More 
Putin To Quit As Head Of Ruling Party
Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin has said he plans to resign as chairman of the country's increasingly unpopular ruling party, United Russia. More 
Discoverers Share More Of White Orca's Secrets
For more on what could be the first sighting in history of "an adult all-white, probably albino, orca bull," RFE/RL spoke via e-mail with Erich Hoyt, a co-leader of the FEROP project whose Moscow and St. Petersburg scientists made the discovery. More 
The First Person To Die On A Spaceflight, 45 Years Ago
Forty-five years ago today, cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov died when the parachutes on his Soyuz 1 space capsule failed to deploy properly after reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. The capsule slammed onto Soviet soil near Orenburg, Russia, on April 24, 1967. More 
Russian Opposition Candidate Ends 40-Day Hunger Strike
A Russian opposition politician who has been on a hunger strike for 40 days to protest alleged vote rigging in a mayoral election ended his protest fast on April 24. More 
The Political Metamorphosis Of Oleg Shein
Before he became the darling of Moscow's liberal intelligentsia for his hunger strike protesting the alleged falsification in Astrakhan's mayoral election, Oleg Shein was a leftist firebrand, a union leader, and an obedient pro-Kremlin State Duma deputy. His status illustrates the ideological diversity of the anti-Kremlin protest movement. More |
