Mikhail Prokhorov’s dramatic entry into the 2012 Russian Presidential race has caused confusion among analysts. Put simply, no-one can fathom why Russia’s third richest man would want to have another stab at...
AndyMoscow Protests: For now or the future?
Protests took place in Moscow on Monday as people unhappy at United Russia’s manipulation of Sunday’s Russian Duma election took to the streets. Numbers are difficult to judge, but it appears that around 5...
How United Russia stole victory
United Russia won 49.54% of the popular vote in this weekend’s Duma Election, which was just enough to secure it an overall majority in the Duma. By and large, election observers felt that the ballot itself was...
Russian Duma Election 2011: United Russia support slumps below 50%
The big story of this year’s Russian Duma election is that United Russia’s share of the vote has dropped below the psychologically critical 50% mark. With 95% of ballots counted, United Russia has 49.67% of...
Russian Elections Today
The 2011 Russian Duma elections are underway today. Results (even preliminary results) are not expected until late this evening and tomorrow. United Russia, the party led by Vladimir Putin, has slipped slightly in the...
This Week in Russia Blogs #2
Time for the second edition of our resurrected roundup of what’s been happening in Russia blogs over the past seven days. To my mind, the most intriguing story of the week has been that of the chaos surrounding...
France begins work on Mistral warships for Russia
France has begun work on building the first of two Mistral class warships for Russia. French naval defence company DCNS confirmed that it had received initial payments from the Russian Government of $1.2 billion, which...
Unrest in South Ossetia after Presidential election annulled
There was more unrest and behind the scenes politicking in South Ossetia today, following the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to annull the results of the election and ban Alla Dzhioyeva – the opposition...
A coup in South Ossetia?
The South Ossetian Supreme Court has dramatically and controversially annulled the results of its Presidential election. In announcing its verdict, it also banned Alla Dzhioyeva – the opposition candidate who...
British court: “Zatuliveter not a Russian spy”
In an embarrassing setback for the British Government, a British court has today ruled that Ekaterina Zatuliveter is not a Russian spy, and that she should be allowed to remain in the UK. The British Government had been...