Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Under Russian President Medvedev, the Kremlin’s efforts to develop and execute concrete solutions to Russia’s many challenges have been replaced by a constant stream of polemical sound bites and vague slogans.
Scientific and technological progress will not, on their own, lead to improvements in the political realm. The economy cannot be effective if the political system is insufficiently free.
Stalin’s growing popularity in Russia is less a function of an organized state propaganda effort to promote him than it is a result of the government’s lack of interest in setting the historical record straight on Stalin. Attention is increasingly focused on the greatness of the country and its achievements under Stalin’s rule.
This volume examines the Arab world’s major political actors, assesses the weaknesses of secular parties, and evaluates how incumbent regimes have maintained their grip on power in spite of reform-oriented claims.
Despite the official end of Russia’s counter-terrorist operation in Chechnya, armed clashes and terrorist attacks continue to plague North Caucasus. Open conflict is on the verge of becoming inevitable.
The upsurge of violence in Russia's North Caucasus region is the result of the incompetence of local authorities and the Kremlin’s failure or reluctance to seriously address the issues of the region.
From Putin’s staged call-in show to Medvedev’s "citizens vs. officials" program, Russia’s virtual politics provides only the illusion of government transparency and improvement.
As violence in the North Caucasus surges, Kremlin policies and its loyal, but brutal, local leaders have played a critical role in causing the situation.
A suicide bomb attack that killed 19 people and wounded at least 58 in Ingushetia was likely intended as retaliation for President Yevkurov’s determination to intensify his fight against Islamic extremists.
Questions remain whether Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov ordered the recent murders of human rights activists in Chechnya, or whether the crimes were an attempt by his opponents to discredit his leadership.