Kyrgyzstan’s Latest Revolution
The March 2005 overthrow of President Askar Akayev in Kyrgyzstan did not immediately revolutionize Kyrgyz politics. The Kyrgyz people initially heralded their “Tulip Revolution,” but…
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Military Learning Between the Chechen Wars
The downward spiral of the Russian military that began with Afghanistan is often compared to the U.S. army’s experience in Vietnam. However, unlike the American…
US-Russian Energy Security in the Caucasus: The Prospects for Conflict in the National Interest
It has taken energy (namely coal and oil) to produce the industrialized and economically prosperous nations of today. That is certain to change in the…
From Vixen to Victim: The Sensationalization and Normalization of Prostitution in Post-Soviet Russia
Since the height of its popularity in the mid-1990s, the Moscow nightclub “Golodnaya Utka,” or “The Hungry Duck,” has been dubbed “Moscow’s first rape camp.”[1]…
Russian Political Culture Since 1985
The traditional view of Russian political culture has been that, due to historical experience, Russians have favored strong autocratic rule. After nearly seventy years of…
Georgia’s Young Ministers and Younger Democracy
When discussing Georgia, most Americans (if they realize you are not talking about Atlanta) will laud the democratic achievements of that former soviet republic. To…
Personal Reflections on Russian Offshore Outsourcing
Three of my four grandparents emigrated from Minsk to New York City more than 100 years ago. So I guess that I was destined to…
Life with Aids in Rural Russia: A Photo Essay
On 1 December 2005, life took a dramatic turn for 25-year-old, HIV-positive Svetlana Izambaeva. Svetlana, who lives in the small Russian city of Cheboksari, was…
Russia Day Evolves
Russia Day is one of the country’s newest holidays and many are still at a loss as to how it should be celebrated. However, the…
The Growth of Russia’s IT Outsourcing Industry: The Beginning of Russian Economic Diversification?
Summary of a speech given by Daniel Satinsky, B.E.A Associates The information technology (IT) outsourcing industry in Russia is one of the few non-natural resource…
Deconstructing the Millennium Manifesto: The Yeltsin-Putin Transition and the Rebirth of Ideology
1. Introduction: The Dearth of Ideology On the 12th July 1996, following a closely fought election victory, Boris Yeltsin called his advisors to him. ‘In…
The Bear and the Dragon
The relationship that has existed between Russia and China has historically been one of mistrust spotted with anger, fear and resentment. Despite their communist ties…
Snapshot of the Russian Economy
The Soviet economy developed under Communist ideals for some seventy-five years. These ideals kept that development focused on what had been the centerpieces of 19th…
The Greening of Moscow
Once upon a time, T&B would fly to Paris or London for a breath of air, and our friends would take turns inviting us to…
Russian Bill on NGOs to Become Law
Moscow – President Vladimir Putin, responding to the international public outcry surrounding Russia’s proposed law on NGOs, issued an executive opinion on the bill that,…
Mandate of the Fatherland: Denis Fonvizin’s Translation of Neo-Confucianism into the Politics of Enlightened Absolutism under Catherine the Great
Born in 1745, Denis Fonvizin was one of eighteenth-century Russia’s premier playwrights, and among the reform-minded intellectuals and future statesmen educated at the University of…
Disillusionment on the Grandest of Scales: Finnish-Americans in the Soviet Union, 1917-1939
From the time of the Russian Revolution onward, the Bolsheviks were often portrayed in mainstream American media as the “enemy.”[1] Many Americans, however, chose to…
The Effects of the Mongol Empire on Russia
The history of Russia has always been a relatively sad and tumultuous one wrought with wars, power struggles, and abrupt changes. These changes have often…
The Impending Price of Ignorance: Demographic Politics of Sexual Education in Russia in Post-Soviet Russia
In the context of escalating international speculation as to the determining factors behind Russia’s demographic crisis, the HIV epidemic is lent increasingly heightened significance. Such…
Russian MiniLessons: Armed Forces – Вооружённые силы
Note, the following excerpt was written by Dr. Lawerence Mansour, West Point. It was originally published in The Russian Context: The Culture behind the Language, edited…