Tatarstan: Semiautonomous and Thriving
A map showing Kazan’s strategic position on a particularly well-watered portion of the Volga river. The Volga has long been an important trade route for Moscow – and a potential…
Read MoreA map showing Kazan’s strategic position on a particularly well-watered portion of the Volga river. The Volga has long been an important trade route for Moscow – and a potential…
Read MoreA map of Chechnya and the surrounding region. Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim region nestled among many turbulent republics in the Caucasian Mountains. Though the deep ethnic, tribal, and religious…
Read MoreThe Russian North Caucasus is one of the most politically complex and turbulent areas in the world due to its plethora of ethnic, national, and religious groups, as well as…
Read MoreThe Russian White House, home to The Federation Council (Russia’s senate) as seen from a subway car window printed with the words “Do Not Press (Lean) Against.” Photo by Garrett…
Read MoreThis 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, political power is centered in…
Read MoreA curious calm presides over the city of St. Petersburg. It is not the calm of a tired city: it’s the deceptive calm of a vortex, seething with energy, imminent…
Read MoreThe Republic of Georgia, a small nation in the South Caucasus, covers territory which has seen the rise and fall of many empires and kingdoms over the last three thousand…
Read MoreAbkhazia: Grandeur to Ruin… and Back Again? A map of locations within Abkhazia (shown in dark red) With its precipitous mountains, subtropical climate, and pristine beaches, one would expect Abkhazia…
Read MoreSouth Ossetia is one of the world’s newest independent states according to Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and the microstates of Tuvalu and Nauru. According to all other states and international organizations,…
Read MoreThese days, a visitor to Tbilisi might be struck by the calm, southern European atmosphere that pervades this hilly capital. The old city of Tbilisi, with its picturesque winding lanes,…
Read MoreUzbekistan is a country that holds a very special place in my heart. I grew up in Uzbekistan but left due to political issues in 2006, so returning to Uzbekistan…
Read MoreScholars of the Soviet Union have written at length about the consolidation of Soviet state control over the media, the establishment of Glavlit and other censorship organs, the expectation of…
Read MoreThe picture of “Comrade Lenin Sweeps the World Clean of Filth” (below) is a perfect illustration of Soviets’ axiological orientations: they felt a moral duty to get rid of the…
Read MoreMoldova, a small country in Eastern Europe between Romania and Ukraine, has a tumultuous history. Its vulnerable geographic location situates it in the crossfire of the cultural battle between Romania…
Read MoreEven though we have lived in harsh conditions we the community of Koryo Saram[3] have helped each other like brothers. We have provided each other hope and aid. Even when…
Read More“Are you talking about the Russians or the Udmurt?” “There’s no difference. The two cultures have been intertwined for so long that it’s really impossible to distinguish which traditions belong…
Read More“Nationalism is a political principle which maintains that similarity of culture is the basic social bond.” – E. Gellner[1] “Казахстан в современных границах исторически был территорией этнического расселения племен, составивших…
Read MoreIn 1917, following the fall of the Russian empire, Alash Orda, a provisional Kazakh government formed by members of the Alash nationalist party, partially filled the power vacuum in present-day…
Read MoreThis essay considers the Slavophile conception of the state and its relationship with society as part of the wider Slavophile program of the 1830s-1850s, which sought to address a sense…
Read MoreAs the Russian government continues to stabilize after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it has become more hostile toward transnational non-governmental organizations (NGOs). New regulations on NGOs are, the…
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