Communism in Modern Moscow: Vadim Kumin
Vadim Kumin was the mayoral candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). He took 11.4 percent of the vote to come solidly…
Read MoreArticles by Josh Wilson
Josh has been with SRAS since 2003. He holds an M.A. in Theatre and a B.A. in History from Idaho State University, where his masters thesis was written on the political economy of Soviet-era censorship organs affecting the stage. He lived in Moscow from 2003-2022, where he ran Moscow operations for SRAS. At SRAS, Josh still assists in program development and leads our internship programs. He is also the editor-in-chief for the SRAS newsletter, the SRAS Family of Sites, and Vestnik. He has previously served as Communications Director to Bellerage Alinga and has served as a consultant or translator to several businesses and organizations with interests in Russia.
Putin’s National Address on Pension Reform
Background: Pension reform has become a pressing issue in Russia. Russia currently has one of the world’s lowest retirement ages (55 for women and 60…
Russia’s Second De-Urbanization
The following originally appeared in Russian on Lenta.ru. The original text can be viewed, in full, here. Translation below is provided by Lindsey Greytak, a…
The Cultural Diplomacy of the FIFA World Cup
Sports has long been a vehicle for cultural diplomacy. This summer, Russia hosted the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Early June brought a plethora of foreign…
The Communists of Russia: Platform and History
Founded in 2009 and officially registered in Russia as a political party since 2012, the Communists of Russia (KR) are distinct from and considerably more…
President Putin’s Acceptance Speech
Shortly after Russia’s Central Election Committee announced the official results of the 2018 Russian presidential election, Vladimir Putin made a nationally televised acceptance speech. It…
Pavel Grudinin: Commercially-Driven Socialism
Pavel Nikolaevich Grudinin is the current Russian presidential nominee from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). As he is not a member of…
Moldovan Politics: Early Moldovan Independence
The Common Roots of Moldovan Nationalism, Liberalism, and the Start of the Transnistrian Conflict The following is part of a series of resources that seeks…
Moldovan Politics: Voronin and the Communists
The Fall and Rise and Fall of Moldova’s Communists The following is part of a series of resources that seeks to explain Moldova’s current political…
Moldovan Politics: Presidential Crises 2009-2018
Trading One Crisis for Another: Timofti and Dodin The following is part of a series of resources that seeks to explain Moldova’s current political situation…
Moldovan Politics: Recent Scandals and Fallout
Recent Scandals: the Downfall of Some, the Rise of Others The following is part of a series of resources that seeks to explain Moldova’s current…
Moldovan Politics: The Rise of Vladimir Plahotniuc
Plahotniuc: For Stability or Authoritarianism? The following is part of a series of resources that seeks to explain Moldova’s current political situation through the biographies…
Moldovan Politics: Introduction
Moldovan politics are some of Europe’s most complicated and interesting. In an era when democracies are increasingly appraised by the rapidity of changes and degree…
Vladimir Putin’s Annual News Conference in Side-by-Side Translation
The following is the official video, transcript, and official translation for Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference as given on December 14, 2017. Note that the…
Vladimir Putin’s Annual News Conference in Side-by-Side Translation – Part II
The following is the official video, transcript, and official translation for Vladimir Putin’s annual news conference as given on December 14, 2017. Note that the…
Central Asia: Core and Periphery
Central Asia is, by its most common definition, those five “stans” that were formerly Soviet republics: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. However, this has…
Alexei Navalny
Alexei Navalny Modern Liberal Nationalism See also: Alexei Navalny: Mayoral Platform for 2013 (in English) Alexei Anatolievich Navalny is a lawyer, activist, and politician. He…
Who’s Who in Kyrgyz Politics
This resource discusses many place names in Kyrgyzstan. Geography is important to Kyrgyz politics, which are marked by a distinct north-south split. In the north,…
Europe: Divisions and Unifications
The European continent is diverse. Many of its countries, though smaller than many US states, can be further broken into regions that differ from each…
What Do The Escalations in US-Russian Sanctions Mean?
The US Congress has recently passed sweeping new sanctions on Russia. Today, they were signed into law by President Trump. Both the sanctions and Russia’s…
