Brian Whitmore is the author of RFE/RL's popular Power Vertical blog, written especially for Russia wonks and obsessive Kremlin watchers, and the host of the weekly Power Vertical Podcast.
When a Moscow jury acquitted all defendants in the recent Politkovskaya murder trial, it crystallized the debate about jury trials in Russia. Police and prosecutors say juries are not qualified to render just verdicts. Supporters retort that they're fairer and less prone to political pressure than judges. Are juries on the way out there?
As Russia's economy sags from falling oil revenues, potentially debilitating schisms continue to open up among the elite. The latest battle pits the technocrats at the Finance Ministry against the powerful "siloviki" who dominate Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
A Russian court has acquitted four men charged in connection with the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, a Kremlin critic and investigative journalist. The verdict, however, has raised more questions than it has found answers.
Facing a crippling economic crisis, Belarus's authoritarian president is looking West for help -- and offering to soften his grip on his country in return. After releasing political prisoners, allowing opposition newspapers to publish, and moving toward liberalizing the economy, how far will the thaw go?
U.S. President Barack Obama will have to decide what to do with his predecessor's plan to deploy a missile-defense system in Europe. Will Obama press on with the plan and risk angering Russia? Will he abandon it? Or will he bargain it away in exchange for concessions from Moscow?
Is it really time to "press the reset button" in U.S.-Russian relations? Both have laid down markers recently on key issues including Afghanistan, Iran, NATO expansion, and missile defense. Which issues are negotiable? Which are bargaining chips? And where are the differences irreconcilable?
The global economic crisis has hit Russia hard as falling oil prices and a devalued currency have cut into living standards. But for the Kremlin, the downturn may also be an opportunity -- to use the economic mayhem to solidify state control over key sectors of the economy.
Vladimir Putin tried to build an unshakable political system over the past decade. But with oil prices tanking and Russia's economy faltering, his vaunted "power vertical" is showing signs of strain. Suddenly, regional leaders are less willing to toe the Kremlin line, and schisms are even widening at the top.
Independent journalists and opposition politicians have long been targets of harassment, intimidation, and assassination in Russia. After the brazen daylight assassination of crusading lawyer Stanislav Markelov, many are wondering if attorneys are now in the crosshairs.
Sixteen journalists have been killed in Russia over the past decade in apparent contract hits. As many as a quarter of them have worked for the liberal weekly "Novaya gazeta." After the shooting death on January 19 of Anastasia Baburova, a young reporter accompanying lawyer Stanislav Markelov at the time of his slaying, the newspaper's management says its reporters should be armed.
U.S.-Russian relations have sunk to post-Cold War lows amid disagreements over NATO expansion, missile defense, and Moscow's relations with its neighbors. Are Washington and Moscow ready to turn the page as Barack Obama prepares to take office?
Since the start of their gas dispute, Ukraine and Russia have each been eager to enlist the support of the EU. But with shipments dwindling to a cold and angry Europe, analysts say the feud is discrediting both parties. Have Moscow and Kyiv both lost?
2008 was a year of war, increasing diplomatic activity, and a resurgent Russia in the restive South Caucasus. Two of the regions' "frozen conflicts" heated up and one showed signs of thawing as the uneasy post-Soviet status quo came unraveled.
Georgia has had a rough 2008. It was twice disappointed in its efforts to speed up its bid to join NATO. It suffered a humiliating military defeat by Russia in August. But now, as the year draws to a close, it appears that Tbilisi might get a consolation prize in the form of a bilateral security agreement with the United States.
This year's sharp drop in crude prices has rattled the economies of oil exporters and prompted OPEC to cut production by 2.2 million barrels. It has also revealed much about the inexact science of oil-price forecasting.
For the second time in eight months, NATO has balked at Georgia and Ukraine's efforts to win coveted Membership Action Plan status. But analysts say it is far too soon to bury Tbilisi and Kyiv's dreams of joining the alliance.
NATO remains as divided as ever on whether to offer Georgia and Ukraine Membership Action Plans. Foreign ministers from the 26-member alliance are meeting in Brussels to consider the issue, which is further complicated by the aftermath of Georgia's bitter war with Russia.
It has long been an article of faith that if oil prices dropped significantly, Russia's ruling elite could find itself in trouble. Now that oil prices are down two-thirds since their August highs, Russia's rulers are indeed starting to feel the heat.
Most of all I remember the crowds. The angry and bewildered masses gathered on St. Petersburg's Palace Square the morning after the assassination. The throngs of grieving ordinary people lining up to view her open casket. The haunting scenes of shivering pensioners in shabby overcoats crashing the gates at Aleksandr Nevsky Monastery to watch the twilight burial.
A number of recent media reports have questioned the long-standing Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively in its August war with Russia. However, evidence gathered by RFE/RL suggests that ethnic-Georgian villages came under heavy shell fire in the days leading up to and evening of August 7.
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