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Articles by Ilya Klishin

opinion Ilya Klishin

Putin-Macron Talks Highlight Gap in Russia Expertise

Foreign media hysteria is making Russians lose trust in Western outlets.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Russia’s Mass Protests 10 Years On — Finding Hope in Defeat

A decade after Russia's biggest Putin-era protests, it seems increasingly obvious that we never stood a chance to succeed in the first place
opinion Ilya Klishin

The Kremlin Is Coming for Media One By One — and Society Is Helpless to Stop It

By labelling the independent Dozhd broadcaster a 'foreign agent,' the Kremlin once again showed it doesn't play by the rules.
opinion Ilya Klishin

The Magic Mirror of Russian Public Opinion

Today’s Russia lacks many of the tools characteristics of societies where citizens live in a shared reality.
opinion Ilya Klishin

The Hill to Die On: Russians Intent on Resisting Mandatory Vaccination

Those who had said nothing when the authorities rigged election results are now speaking out about their “impinging freedoms.”
opinion Ilya Klishin

The Dilemma of the Great Terror: How to Report Roman Protasevich’s 'Confession'?

Roman Protasevich's "interview" — which bears resemblance to Stalin's infamous show trials — presents a challenge for journalists covering it.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Let’s Wait Until After the Elections

Many believe the recent clampdown on the Russian opposition will ease up after the September Duma elections. I am not so sure.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Luiza Rozova and the Helpless Intellectual

A Dj set by the alleged third daughter of Vladimir Putin caused anger amongst Russian progressives.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Four Ways the Kremlin Could Block Western Social Networks in Russia

Russia has been making loud but empty threats for years that it would block such giants as Facebook and Twitter. What if this time is different?
opinion Ilya Klishin

The Capitol Storming Gives Russians an Escape From Their Reality

The great majority of Russians have no say over the future of their cities or regions and so resort to events outside the country.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Warning! An Army of Russian Trolls Has Invaded TikTok

The Kremlin is using its tested methods on the viral social media platform, but TikTok users have developed “anti-bodies” to bots and trolls.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Why Russians Dislike 'Good Russians' in American Films No Less than 'Bad Russians'

Russians were simply unprepared to see themselves portrayed as the “good guys” in the new Netflix series "The Queen’s Gambit."
opinion Ilya Klishin

Great Russian Literature Versus One Tweet by Stephen King

Why Russians still lose their heads over comments made by Western movie critics.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Anonymous Telegram Channels Are Shaping Russia's Daily Life

Popular telegram channels said Moscow would re-impose quarantine on September 21. It never happened
opinion Ilya Klishin

Why Do Russians Resent Western Media Over the Protests in Belarus?

Let’s be quite clear: the West is not ignoring the events in Belarus.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Russian Authorities Are Targeting Journalists, Historians and Activists. The Rest of Us Could Be Next.

Every day, without interruption, brings more searches, detentions, arrests and criminal charges.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Russians Watch the American Protests as Clouds Gather at Home

Russians are more fascinated by the images of the mass protests in response to George Floyd’s death.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Putin and the 'Distinct Russian Civilization'

How the Kremlin tries to explain the coronavirus crisis to its people.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Why Showcase the Prime Minister’s Illness on TV?

Russian citizens instinctively expect their leaders to lie to them during crises but the authorities now seem intent on proving that they are not hiding...
opinion Ilya Klishin

Russia's Independent Media Is Under Attack Again as Apathy Reigns

Many find it hard to care that the authorities are strangling Vedomosti.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Coronavirus Spoils Putin's 'Forever-in-Power' Public Vote

With tens of millions of Russians struggling financially, Putin shouldn't expect an enthusiastic turnout for his constitutional amendments
opinion Ilya Klishin

As Russia Battles the Coronavirus Crisis, Why Is Putin so Absent?

Aside from the brief Russian-Georgian War in 2008, this is the first time in 20 years that Putin has not personally managed a major national crisis.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Why Russian Pensioners Won’t Self-Isolate

Russian pensioners believe that they alone know how to survive through life's hardships.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Buckwheat and the Coronavirus: How Russians Cope With the End of the World

Although Putin stressed that there was no need to stock up on food, throngs of anxious Muscovites snatched up astronomical quantities of buckwheat.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Russians Have Little Say in Their Future

Putin’s revamp underlines the extent to which the status quo rules.

Почему и отставка Медведева, и поправки Путина к конституции не имеют ровным счетом никакого значения

Будущее не зависит ни от кого, кроме одного человека, чье имя вы прекрасно знаете.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Surviving Against the Odds: How Russian Media Learned to Adapt in the 2010s

For a while, it looked like independent media would disappear in Russia. But that is not how things turned out.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Why It Is Nearly Impossible for a Common Russian to Follow the Upcoming U.S. Elections

Russia's politics is a battle between those who are in favor of democratic procedures and capitalism and those who strive for authoritarianism.

Кому принадлежит русский язык? А кому английский?

Почему вообще проводятся заседания по русскому языку? И почему это происходит в Кремле...
opinion Ilya Klishin

Putin Wants to Own the Russian Language

Why does the president want to create a Russian Wikipedia?

Экономический ГУЛАГ: зачем расстреливать оппозицию, если можно ее просто обанкротить

Илья Клишин о «Деле ФБК», новых экономических репрессиях против Навального и его сторонников...
opinion Ilya Klishin

How Putin Is Bankrupting the Russian Opposition

Why throw hundreds of thousands of people into forced labor camps when you can easily force them into bankruptcy?

Как обсуждение смертной казни связано с «запретом» на негатив про Украину

Есть непреложное правило российских федеральных, кремлевских и прокремлевских, медиа:...
opinion Ilya Klishin

What’s Behind Russian Media’s Obsession With the Death Penalty?

The recent debate in Russia on bringing back capital punishment has nothing to do with Ukraine — or does it?
opinion Ilya Klishin

Putin Has Achieved Everything He Wanted. But It Will Never Be Enough For Young Russians.

Putin has led Russia into the bright future envisioned by his Brezhnev-era youth.
opinion Ilya Klishin

How TikTok Is Bringing Russia’s Youth Closer to the West

School kids in Siberia now look just like school kids in New York and California.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Russia’s New Heroes Are Those Who Simply Say Things as They Are

Government officials can turn into celebrities overnight simply by speaking the truth.
opinion Ilya Klishin

Why Russian 'Opposition' Journalists Find Refuge in Propaganda Outlets

It makes little difference where you work in a media environment devoid of dreams and opportunities.
opinion Ilya Klishin

The Kremlin's Trolls Go West

Russian authorities first set their sights on the Internet in the mid-2000s, but the selective approach to controlling it was not effective. The street...