By Ilya Malyakin On June 9 the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation had the final word on the two-year struggle by Russia's governors to extend their hold on power. In spite of its contrived sophistry, this problem has been a measure of the state... MORE

By Mikhail Kochkin Of all the phenomena that have shocked and scandalized Russian society over the last six months, first place surely goes to the skinhead movement. Fascist hooligans, almost unknown before last October's pogrom at Moscow's Tsarytsino market, have appeared across the country--Interior Ministry... MORE

By Nabi Abdullaev [The Kremlin's efforts to battle ethnically motivated extremism will most likely prove futile, because Russian society, especially in its poorer layers, is plagued with genuine xenophobic sentiments. The mismatch in the traditional mentalities and ways of life of indigenous Russians and migrants... MORE

By Elena Chinyaeva The political season in Russia is over. Both chambers of parliament have left for summer vacation, the Duma on July 1 and the Federation Council on July 12. In contrast to the long-running 2001 spring session, when important bills were not passed... MORE

By Mikhail Zherebyatev Under cover of a law passed in June, the Russian state will bring all its might to bear in a war against extremism. Collateral damage may be heavy. Political parties should largely escape unscathed, but the fate of religious denominations is much... MORE

By Fedor Yermolov On July 11 prosecutors charged novelist Vladimir Sorokin with dissemination of pornography, a violation of article 242 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The case may mark the launch of a new phase in the Russian state's eternal battle against... MORE

By Vladimir Socor Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest associates are again calling for a military operation inside Georgia. This, by most counts, is the third cycle of such threats--not including incursions without warning--since Putin became president. Each time, Washington has made it clear that a... MORE

By Sergei Kolchin [Author's Note: This article examines the agreement recently signed by three presidents--Russia, Ukraine and Germany--on setting up a gas consortium from the point of view of the political and economic consequences for Russian and Ukraine and some other European countries, notably Poland.]... MORE

By Igor Rotar The drying Aral Sea is one of the worst ecological disasters of the twentieth century. Located in the west of Central Asia, with part of it belonging to the republic of Karakalpakia (in northwestern Uzbekistan) and the rest belonging to Kazakhstan, in... MORE

By Vladimir Socor Like Luigi Pirandello's stage characters, GUUAM's member countries seem forever in search of a playwright with a script. Ukraine from time to time provides the group's other member countries--Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldova and Uzbekistan--with some sense of stage movement, and the United States... MORE