Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Is Kaliningrad on the Brink of Inter-Ethnic Conflict?

Rather unexpectedly, Kaliningrad oblast—Russia’s westernmost, physically detached region on the Baltic coast—experienced a surge in inter-ethnic tensions arising from discrimination directed at the local Islamic community. On September 19, a Kaliningrad court opened a legal case initiated by the local Muslim community, which is suing... MORE

Kazakhstan Faces Three Kinds of Separatist Threats

More than any other non-Russian country in the post-Soviet space, Kazakhstan now faces separatist challenges that were structured into it by Joseph Stalin in the 1920s and 1930s, when he included large and predominantly ethnic-Russian-populated regions in the north within the republic’s borders. The Soviet... MORE

Navalny Organizes Another Round of Protests Against Putin

Ostensibly to celebrate Vladimir Putin’s birthday on Saturday, October 7, supporters of the detained opposition politician and anti-corruption blogger Alexei Navalny and his staff organized protests across Russia, calling on the Russian president to leave office. Navalny himself has been under administrative arrest since September... MORE

Orthodox Fundamentalists Backed by Russian Siloviki, Scholar Says

Many have wondered why the Russian government has not come down harder on what some are calling “the Orthodox Jihad,” radical groups within the Russian Orthodox Church that, despite opposition from the Moscow Patriarchate, have engaged in various illegal actions—including attacks on movie theaters that... MORE

Russia Is Steered Back Toward Petro-Stagnation

The “historic” trip of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud to Moscow, last week (October 4–7) was an affair long on ceremony, featuring a massive delegation, but rather uncertain regarding the real results. The first ever royal visit (which had been rescheduled several times) was... MORE