Latest Articles about Domestic/Social

Environmental Protests in Bashkortostan Emerging as Threat to Moscow

Executive Summary: For more than six years, Bashkortostan has been the site of larger and more prolonged protests and greater repression than any other region of the Russian Federation, especially since Russian President Vladimir Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The protests and repression... MORE

Georgia’s Pro-Kremlin Parties are Growing Stronger

Executive Summary: The Georgian State Registry re-registered “Conservatives for Georgia,” a pro-Russian party tied to political violence and anti-Western rhetoric, signaling the ruling Georgian Dream party’s continued effort to consolidate pro-Russian forces ahead of elections. Ultranationalist groups, originally civil movements promoting anti-Western propaganda, have gained... MORE

Militarization of Regional Policy Leads to Decline of Federalism in Russia

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly relied on expansionist, militaristic foreign policy in his 25-year rule to centralize power and justify the dissolution of Russian federalism. Moscow has stripped regional governments of the power to economically and socially self-develop, leaving them only able... MORE

Environmental Protest in Russia Again a Seedbed of Political Opposition

Executive Summary: Nominally “apolitical” ecological protests are becoming seedbeds of political activism in Russia because of the importance of the environment to Russian citizens and Moscow’s clumsy approach to its maintenance. The Vladimir Putin regime is increasingly aware of the threat posed by environmental activism... MORE

Widespread Liberalization of Russian Domestic Policy Remains Unlikely

Executive Summary: The Kremlin is reportedly considering “post-war normalization” scenarios, involving the rehabilitation of public figures and return of emigrants who left at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to project internal stability amid prospects for a peace deal with Ukraine. Russia continues... MORE

Russia’s FSB and Law Enforcement Tactics Suppress Opposition

Executive Summary: The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has evolved from a traditional security agency into a political repression tool, prioritizing control of dissent rather than addressing actual security threats. The FSB controls key Russian state institutions—including the police, judiciary, and prosecutors—creating a security infrastructure... MORE