Section: Institute of Modern Russia (USA)
How the Kremlin is preparing for war
Since March 2021, when the first reports of a military buildup at the Russia-Ukraine border appeared, the Kremlin has continued taking steps to shape the battlespace, both in physical reality and in the information sphere. While Western observers seem to view a Russian invasion as almost inevitable, Ukrainian officials call for a toning down of...
Smoke and mirrors: Western misperceptions of Russia in Ukraine
The consensus among Western politicians and experts is that the Kremlin is gearing up for war, which could be prevented by either deterrence or negotiations. However, recent research shows that policymaking discourse in both Russia and the West is “full of mutual misperceptions, mirror imaging, and attribution of non-existent intentions and...
War and gas
Is the surge in natural gas prices in Europe this winter related to the escalation in Ukraine following Putin’s ultimatum to the West and threat of war? According to economist Vyacheslav Inozemtzev, director of the Center for Research on Post-Industrial Societies (Moscow), the answer to this question is not as straightforward as it might...
Kremlin propaganda goes to war
For weeks leading up to February 24, as Russian military equipment moved into position around Ukraine’s borders and as U.S. government spokespersons warned of an “imminent” attack, foreign and domestic Russia analysts did not expect that an actual war was about to begin. Many pointed to the lack of a “rally around the flag” propaganda...
IMR’s statement on the situation in Ukraine
…read more Source:: Institute of Modern...
From victor to aggressor: A metamorphosis
On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine under the pretenses of “demilitarization” and “denazification” of the country. Legal scholar and professor at the Free University Ekaterina Mishina analyzes the legal aspects of the war and looks at the cultural ramifications of the actions of the Russian Federation, which, by...
WAR IN UKRAINE: the world is at the critical junction, urgent action is needed now
IMR’s president Pavel Khodorkovskiy calls for immediate action to shelter Ukraine’s sky and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe. …read more Source:: Institute of Modern...
Russian Jews: a complicated narrative
Last October former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev wrote an article focusing on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, an ethnic Jew. Medvedev mocked and insulted him, implying that Zelensky is a treacherous Jew and a disgusting person. The article was criticized for anti-Semitism and attempts at undermining Zelensky’s political...
A big war in Ukraine: The Kremlin’s goals and consequences for world politics
On February 24, the Russian army crossed the Ukrainian border in several directions simultaneously, thus beginning a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin employed most of its armed forces—around 130,000 people, according to various estimates—that had accumulated along the Ukrainian border over the past four months. …read more...
World without Russia
The war unleashed by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine will have grave consequences for Russia—political, economic, cultural. However, contrary to the Kremlin’s thinking, Russia’s importance on the world stage, which is being rapidly reconsidered today, is in fact not so great. Modern Russia is beginning to fade into the past. …read...
