The president of the European Parliament has warned that “European democracy is under attack”, following allegations that Qatar bribed EU officials to win influence, the BBC reports: Roberta Metsola said… Read more »
A military revolt against Putin is more possible now than it was before the invasion of Ukraine, but the odds against it remain long. Wars like Putin’s can breed resentment… Read more »
In collaboration with European allies, the US Justice Department has launched ‘Task Force KleptoCapture’ to crack down on oligarchs and seize assets. “To those bolstering the Russian regime through corruption… Read more »
Russia’s ruling party retained its supermajority in parliament, further cementing President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power following elections that excluded most opposition politicians and were marred by multiple reports of… Read more »
The entire politics desk of one of Russia’s top daily newspapers, Kommersant, quit on Monday in protest over censorship after two veteran reporters were fired. The walkout at the newspaper controlled… Read more »
Komsomolskaya Pravda has taken the unusual step of reporting on a speech Valery Solovey delivered in the provinces in which he not only denounced the Putin regime for wasting the oil… Read more »
Authoritarian rule is not imposed on Russians from above but is solicited from below by the people themselves, claims Sergey Karaganov, a former Putin advisor and one of Russia’s leading… Read more »
There is little prospect of a Russo-American ‘grand bargain’ or rapprochement, even if Vladimir Putin visits Washington, in part because the US will not abandon democracy promotion, a RUSI analysis suggests: Russia unsuccessfully pushed for… Read more »
The lives of Russian kleptocrats in Britain are suddenly fraught with new anxieties, the Washington Post reports: Critics in London of Russian President Vladimir Putin are reevaluating their need for… Read more »
“Kleptocracy at its worst” is how US Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently characterized dealings at 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), a heavily indebted state development fund currently under investigation for fraud… Read more »