Study Guides
The following study guides cover issues concerning Russia, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Caucasus. They are focused on providing important pillar information such as recent statistics and structural overviews,…
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GeoHistories
Are Tensions Likely for the Russian Diaspora in Kyrgyzstan?
Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the post –Soviet region has faced a number of challenges including widespread diasporas, fluid national identities, overlapping ethnic territories, and varying…
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Ukraine Update in 7 Sentences
The following is a list of seven general points to be aware of as the Ukraine / Crimea Crisis continues to develop. This resource has been constructed primarily for professors…
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Kyrgyzstan’s Energy Alternatives: Between Scylla and Charybdis
Russia has often been accused recently of “energy blackmail,” using its large hydrocarbon reserves to gain political influence in countries which are dependent on energy imports from Russia to sustain…
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Russia in Space
A Soviet-era space suit. This picture was taken by Tabitha Smith at the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow. Humanity’s space age had its beginnings in the Cold War rivalries…
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Science in Russia and the Soviet Union: Book Review, Overview of Scientists and Discoveries
One has only to look at the current debate over stem cell research in the USA to understand how science, even today, is shaped by social, economic, and political factors….
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Putin and the “Problem of 2008”
An Annotated Overview of Quotes about Putin’s Decision to Head United Russia’s Party List in the Coming Elections As political analysts endlessly mulled the “Problem of 2008,” in which they…
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Why This Cold Peace?
After almost a decade of living and working in Russian villages, there are three questions that haunt us. First, how was the enormity of good that can be found in…
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The Medvedev Economy
Dmitri Medvedev inspects grain produced in Orenburg, in south western Russia. The grain was produced using machinery purchased via a government program Medvedev now heads. The Russian economy is due…
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Politics in the Former Soviet Union: A Personal View from an American born of Russian Immigrants
On December 3, 2007 I awoke with a hangover, even though I had not imbibed the night before. The evening of December 2 was my single worst election viewing evening,…
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US Elections Come to Moscow
Anna Wiesfieler is a Visting Scholar at MGIMO, Moscow. The 2008 US elections promise to bring historic results. Not only will the next president be the first sitting senator elected…
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Fantasy Islands: New Lands Built for St. Petersburg
A rendering of what St. Petersburg might soon look like. On the tenth of September, a massive Italian ocean liner, the Costa Mediterranea, with seventeen decks, three hundred meters in…
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Resolving the Crimean Crisis: What will Russia have on the table?
The current crisis in Crimea has escalated quickly and was unexpected by most in the West. The Russians and Germans have just agreed to begin talks to resolve the crisis….
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Chernobyl: A Short History of the Human Impact on Ukraine and its Neighbors
A scene at a former school in the abandoned city of Pripyat, near the Chernobyl disaster site. On April 26, 1986 the worst nuclear accident in history took place in…
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Crimea Crisis Reader: Thinking Critically about the Crisis
The following articles have been chosen for discussing the political, diplomatic, military, social, and economic causes and potential effects of the current crisis on the Crimean Peninsula. Note that many…
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Russians on Ice: A Brief Overview of Soviet and Russian Hockey
The USSR was a nearly unstoppable force in hockey. Picture from savok.ru While Russia’s political history has been tumultuous and unpredictable, one thing has remained an unfaltering constant: Russians are…
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The State of the Russian Navy: History and Prospectives
Russia has had a long historical tradition of a strong military and a special pride in its naval forces. From Peter the Great to the turn of the 20th century,…
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The Chinese in Russia’s Far East: A Clash of Civilizations in Vladivostok
An international student fair at Far Eastern National Univeristy. Mostly Asian students were in attendance. Photo by Lee Chiang. As an American of Chinese descent, I’ve always had an interest…
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The Moscow Protest: My Experience
This is me standing with a white ribbon and carnation, a symbol of the peaceful protests held that day. The orange flag to my right is for the Solidarity movement…
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