Russia’s opaque digitalisation
Vladimir Gel’man on how digitalisation should aid public accountability mechanisms in contemporary Russia, but is currently helping to thwart it
Institutions
Russia’s censored judges
Yulia Khalikova looks at a recent ban on Constitutional Court judges publishing a dissenting opinion
The impact of Covid-19 on Russia’s courts
OVD-Info lawyers and analysts Alexandra Baeva, Natalia Smirnova and Denis Shedov have flagged up several issues affecting Russia’s courts during the pandemic
The prospects for Putin’s ‘long state’
Alexander Morozov on why Putin has not become an Atatürk for post-Soviet Russia
Lessons of the Recent Past: From Tuberculosis to COVID-19 in Russia’s Prisons
Judith Pallot on the history of epidemics in Russia’s prison system and the secretive nature of the Federal Penitentiary System during the pandemic
The split in Putin’s regime
Tatiana Stanovaya on how dreams of greatness can in fact erode the Russian state
The Russian military and COVID-19
Pavel Luzin on herd immunity to COVID-19 in the Russian Armed Forces
COVID-19 has been devastating for Russia’s prisoners
Olga Zeveleva on the practices used in the Russian prison system during the COVID-19 pandemic and their consequences
Russia’s electoral “stability”
Vladislav Inozemtsev puzzles over the constantly changing electoral rules in Russia and their role in power preservation
Russian Parliamentary Jostling in a Time of Pandemic
Ben Noble has spotted several signs of a “new normal” in the Russian Duma this year, with rumours now hinting at early parliamentary elections
Where was the “people’s will” in Russia’s “referendum”?
Stanislav Andreychuk considers the results of Russia’s national “referendum” on constitutional amendments
Putin’s fundamental amendment
Mikhail Turchenko unpacks what’s wrong with the constitutional amendments and the popular vote