On the Eve of Crimean Independence
The day before Crimea voted in its independence referendum, The Village, a Moscow-based publication with editions in St. Petersburg and Kiev, asked residents of various…
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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…
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…
12 Things You Should Know about the Agreement in Ukraine
An agreement was brokered by EU leaders between Ukraine’s ruling party and the opposition. That agreement, however, was broken the day after it was signed…
Introduction to Conflict in the Post-Soviet Space
As the Soviet Union crumbled, it left behind ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse successor states. As these states tried to form domestic policies and governing…
Why the Terrorists Chose Volgograd
I have seen several articles now comment on the reasoning that terrorists might have employed in choosing to target the Russian city of Volgograd three…
Russian MiniLessons: Civil War in Syria
The <strong>сирийский</strong> <strong>кризис</strong> (Syrian crisis) is a conflict between <strong>п</strong><strong>овстанцы</strong> (rebels) who are seeking to <strong>свергнуть</strong> <strong>правительство</strong> (oust the government) and <strong>проправительственные</strong> <strong>силы</strong> (pro-government forces)….
Russian MiniLessons: Political Asylum and Related Russian Vocabulary
The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal…
Nationalist Thought in Contemporary Russia
The Russian nationalist movement came to prominence in the late Soviet era and the early years of the Russian Federation. Russia had never existed as…
The Dima Yakovlev Law: Ethical Implications of the Russian Adoption Ban
When Sergei Magnitsky passed away in Moscow’s Butyrka prison in 2009, human rights activists worldwide cried foul. Magnitsky was a prominent lawyer who uncovered and investigated…
Russia’s “Gay Propaganda” Law
Russian Federal Law #135-FZ Russia’s recent law banning “homosexual propaganda” to minors has been the subject of protests across Europe and the US. SRAS.org, in…
Rodina
Rodina first began as an electoral bloc called “The People’s Patriotic Union of Rodina,” uniting about 30 groups for participation in the 2003 Duma elections….
Mayakovskaya Library in St. Petersburg
Literature and culture have a very strong bond in Russia, and as any student of Russian can attest to, reading Russian literature is a key…
A Vision and a Guiding Light in an Age of Disunity: A review of Theodosius’ contributions to Vladimir I’s vision
Артельный горшок гуще кипит “With a helper, many things are possible” – Russian Proverb ‘Let us seek a prince who may rule over us, and…
Russia’s Forest Sector and International Trade in Forest Products: Export Taxes on Roundwood, Priority Investment Projects, and WTO Accession
Wood, well made into buildings and furniture and well cared for, can last hundreds of years, but it is now routinely manufactured into products that…
Russian MiniLessons: Акции протеста в России – Protests in Russia
The following bilingual Russian MiniLesson is meant to build your vocabulary by providing Russian phrases within English text. Hover over the bold Russian to reveal…
Matt Robertson: From Russian History to Environment
Matt Robertson is the Programs Director at Tahoe Baikal Institute (TBI), an NGO that connects two of the world’s unique lake ecosystems and, in doing so, promotes…
The Armenian Colonies in Ukraine: Conflict, Cooperation, and Assimilation
The early modern period from 1500-1800 has been focused upon in recent scholarship as a unique era separated from the medieval and the modern. This…
Lake Baikal in Space and Place: Connections of Local Residents to Natural Resources and the Role they Play in Protecting them
Every year hundreds of thousands of travelers make the pilgrimage to the breath-taking shores of Lake Baikal in Siberia. Unfortunately, the awe-inspiring natural beauty of…
Cooperative Ventures of Russian Civil Society: Three Case Studies from the Memorial Human Rights Group
Democracy – in particular, a healthy liberal democracy – also requires a public that is organized for democracy, socialized to its norms and values, and…