Latest posts by Yulia Lukashina
Wearing Putin's Insult as the Badge of Honor
The Greenpeace activists locked up in Murmansk may be suffering the worst luck of anyone in the ongoing scandal surrounding Russia's Arctic drilling, but they aren't the only ones hurting.
1968 Comes to Today's Russian Universities?
Last month, on December 18, students at the Russian State University of Trade and Economics (RSUTE) began a strike and blocked the main door of their alma mater. Controversy surrounds Sergei Baburin, the school's recently sacked chancellor, whose academic tenure overlapped with a long history of political activity.
The Trouble With Russian Nationalism
This year, Unity Day lived up to its name, though in a rather unexpected way. In 46 towns and cities across Russia, including Moscow, roughly 30 thousand people took part in far-right extremist rallies. While this is an infinitesimally small fraction of the country's total population, Unity Day's far-right groups have managed to attract supporters all over Russia.
Russia: Dreaming About Better Roads
Prime Minister Medvedev ordered the government to auction a construction contract to build another section of a still-incomplete toll road between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. By signing the decree, Medvedev awakened a debate about the highway's negative environmental impact that only recently seemed to be subsiding.
Russia: Diva Politics Over Pussy Riot
The Pussy Riot trial has caused no small amount of debate among Russia's public figures, including an amusing row between two of the country's best known celebrities.
Russia: Pro-Kremlin YouTube Sensation Gets Own TV Show
Sometimes, a 90-second online video can change lives. Svetlana Kuritsyna was just nineteen last December, when she became an Internet sensation thanks to a laudatory and rambling interview celebrating the political records of Vladimir Putin and United Russia. Now she's been handed her own TV show, and Russian netizens are left wondering what it means.
Russia: Politician Presents Handgun Ownership Proposal
"Given the most humble assessments, weapons barons stand to earn more than 746 billion within a decade.. bureaucrats will get their own cut from issuing licenses, carrying and purchase permits, and certificates" - a blogger reacts to the proposal.