Latest Prism Articles
THE AGE OF TERRORISM REACHES RUSSIA
By Andrei Kolganov TERRORISM TODAY Political terrorism has a long history. Only since the Second World War, however, have terrorist attacks against civilians become widespread. When the machinery of state terror in many countries not only demonstrated a cynical contempt for the lives of ordinary... MORE
RUSSIA GOES NUCLEAR OVER CHECHNYA
By Andrei Piontkowsky At the beginning of this week I took part in a seminar in the State Duma of the Russian Federation. Several of those present discussed, in all seriousness, the possibility of using thermonuclear weapons in Chechnya. I spoke against this, drawing on... MORE
ABOLITION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, KRASNODAR-STYLE: THE LEGAL ASPECTS
By Mikhail Zherebiatev The deputies of the Krasnodar krai Duma have drawn up a package of draft amendments to regional legislation, spelling a change in the principles of local government. Essentially, these amendments amount to the local population being stripped of the right to directly... MORE
THE FORTNIGHT IN REVIEW
RUSSIAN POLITICS: PRIME MINISTERS EVERYWHERE Most of the political news in Russia this past fortnight involved the activities of former prime ministers--hardly a surprise, given the degree to which they've been proliferating. The second-most-recent ex-premier, Yevgeny Primakov, finally took a step back onto the political... MORE
THE KREMLIN’S HEIR
By Elena Dikun On August 9 Russian President Boris Yeltsin named the latest candidate to succeed him: Director of the FSB and secretary of the Security Council Vladimir Putin. Yeltsin paved the way for his successor's career move and strengthened his position by appointing him... MORE
DIFFERENT PRESIDENTS, DIFFERENT HOBBIES: CLINTON CHANGES HIS WOMEN, YELTSIN HIS PRIME MINISTERS
By Aleksandr Buzgalin The latest cabinet dismissal--that of former Prime Minister Sergei Stepashin, who had had barely three months in the job--was greeted with little more than a sarcastic smile by most Russians, to the effect: What can you expect from him [Yeltsin]? Then comes... MORE
GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION BLOCS: RUSSIA WITHOUT MOSCOW OR MOSCOW WITHOUT RUSSIA?
By Ilya Malyakin Attempts by Russia's regional leaders to intervene in the activities of the federal center and even to take control of it have already enjoyed a fairly long history. Such attempts were impossible in the Soviet period and the early stages of post-Soviet... MORE
NEW MUFTIS, NEW RUSSIANS?
By Galina M. Yemelianova In 1789 the enlightened but tough Tsarina Catherine the Great (1729-1796) invented the institution of the Muftyat as a medium of state control of her Muslim subjects. The decision was taken in the aftermath of the Pugachev popular revolt (1773-1775) which... MORE
RUSSIA AND BAKU OIL: NEW ASPECTS OF THE PROBLEM
By Sergei Kolchin In the Soviet Union, Caspian oil was seen as the superpower's strategic back-up. Back then, it was economically viable to develop the huge West Siberian reserves, which provided a reliable profit. Given this, few saw much point in troubling themselves with tackling... MORE
PRE-ELECTION UKRAINE: KUCHMA’S ADMINISTRATION IN THE EYES OF THE ELECTORATE
By Volodymyr Zviglyanich Between 1994 and 1998, the Sociological Institute of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences--with the support of the Democratic Initiatives foundation and the Socis-Gallop organization--monitored the current state of affairs and development trends in Ukrainian society. In May of each year a... MORE