In September 2013, voters cast their ballots on Russia’ single voting day. The results of voting differed greatly from one region to another: in some regions, where the voting procedure had become a mere formality, United Russia managed to win from 40 to 80% of the votes cast, while in the...

The October 2012 single day of voting produced approximately the same results for United Russia as were achieved by it in the 2011 parliamentary elections. The CPRF also had a good showing at the polls. The two other parliamentary parties – Fair Russia and the LDPR – did not manage to...

In March 2014 Russia announced the accession of Crimea based on the results of the referendum held on 16 March 2014. In response the U.S. and EU introduced visa sanctions and a ban on the possession of assets in their jurisdictions for Russian officials (and in the U.S. this also extended to...

February saw a sharp deterioration of Russo-Ukrainian relations in the aftermath of the bloody conflict in Ukraine that led to President Viktor Yanukovych’s flight into Russia and to the Crimean parliament’s refusal to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities. Russia’s authorities have so...

In December 2014, Russia's authorities faced a severe foreign exchange crisis, which forced them to increase the CBR key interest rate to 17% and to order a number of major state-owned companies, including Gazprom and Rosneft, that their foreign exchange reserves should be brought back to the...

In November 2014, Vladimir Putin declared that he had no intentions to become Russia's president-for-life. In spite of Putin's assurances, this public statement has inevitably sent an alarming signal to society. In November 2014, a court of justice seized the company Bashneft from Vladimir...

In December, the Russian authorities made several symbolic gestures designed to sway public opinion both at home and abroad in favor of their policies. Thus, they pardoned Michail Khodorkovsky, Russia’s number one po¬litical prisoner, and declared a large-scale amnesty marking the 20th...

Tensions in the eastern Ukraine were eased a bit in May 2014, although the causes of the confl ict still remain to be resolved. There is a fragile balance today between the Ukrainian military forces and the armed groups of supporters of federalism in Donetsk and Lugansk regions. In the...

In May 2013, RF President Putin continued his criticism of the government, which took the form of a well-planned media campaign designed to shift the blame for every adversity and failure in the country onto the Cabinet of Ministers. It is expected that this campaign will culminate in the...

In March 2014 Russia announced the accession of Crimea based on the results of the referendum held on 16 March 2014. In response the U.S. and EU introduced visa sanctions and a ban on the possession of assets in their jurisdictions for Russian officials (and in the U.S. this also extended to...