Mapping the New Battlespace of Information
In the digital age, social media can become a weapon of disinformation and sophisticated propaganda can shape important policy debates. Russia has been an early adopter of these techniques and… Read more »
Category: Eurasia
Putin experiencing ‘the impotence of omnipotence’
Many of the apparent contradictions in Russia today can be explained by the fact that Vladimir Putin and his regime have entered what political scientist Guilliermo O’Donnell called “the impotence of… Read more »
Lawmakers call for Nemtsov killers to face justice
Over the past decade and a half, Vladimir Putin’s Russia has been an economic dynamo and a basket case, an imperfect democracy and a tightening tyranny, notes Foreign Affairs. The case of Boris Nemtsov provides… Read more »
Teflon Putin: corrupt but secure?
The biggest surprise about the Russian reaction to the Panama Papers leaks came in the form of a poster that depicted Russian President Vladimir Putin as the drug-addled protagonist played by Johnny Depp in… Read more »
Civil society in post-Soviet space: legitimacy, linkage and learning
“Partly free” countries in the post-Soviet space must fight even harder now to protect growing civil societies, argues Orysia Lutsevych, the manager of the Ukraine Forum in London-based think tank… Read more »
Will the Putin regime crumble?
Yes, says Stephen Sestanovich, the George F. Kennan Senior Fellow for Russian and Eurasian Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, and a board member of the National Endowment for… Read more »
Recognizing and countering authoritarian resurgence
A new book is warning of an authoritarian surge around the world led by China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, who are using sophisticated methods to silence dissent and… Read more »
Russia must abandon ‘false democracy’ – Putin ally
Russia must “stop playing false democracy” in order to combat a “hybrid war” waged against it by the U.S., the chief of the country’s powerful Investigative Committee said. Russian… Read more »
Isolation and propaganda: roots and instruments of Russia’s soft power
Russia’s fairly successful propaganda in the West shows that political pluralism and open societies have some significant vulnerabilities compared to authoritarian states, with regard to speed of decision-making and action,… Read more »
Russia should learn from China’s internet censorship, says official
The head of Russia’s Central Investigative Committee has urged the country’s officials to step up control of the internet, using China’s experience as a model to counter pressure from… Read more »