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Articles by Paul Goble

opinion Paul Goble

Protesters in Russia Today Are Younger, Poorer and Further Left than a Decade Ago

If protests are happening, young people want to be part of that.

Despite Promises, Russian Draftees Are Fighting and Dying in the North Caucasus

Despite repeated promises by senior Moscow officials and the explicit provisions of several laws, Russian draftees are being sent to fight and die...

Poll Suggests Russians Oppose Further De-Stalinization

The Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights has said that de-Stalinization and de-Sovietization programs are preconditions...

Young Russians Less Tolerant of Non-Russians Than Their Parents Are, Poll Finds

A survey of 1500 Russians conducted by Tomsk officials found that younger people in that city are less tolerant of representatives of other nationalities...

Moscow Planning to Abolish Non-Russian Republics, Pavlova Says

Under the cover of the international effort against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, the leaders of the ruling United Russia Party are planning to abolish...

Sochi Olympics Makes the Circassian Genocide an International Issue, Analysts Say

Moscow's drive to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi has transformed the question of the recognition of the Circassian genocide from a narrowly...
opinion Paul Goble

Sochi Olympics Makes the Circassian Genocide an International Issue, Analysts Say

Moscow's drive to hold the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi has transformed the question of the recognition of the Circassian genocide from a narrowly...

Why Aren't Russians in Revolt?

The spread of political protests in the Middle East and increasing problems inside Russia, including corruption, income gaps and official arbitrariness...
opinion Paul Goble

Why Aren't Russians in Revolt?

The spread of political protests in the Middle East and increasing problems inside Russia, including corruption, income gaps and official arbitrariness...
opinion Paul Goble

Manezh Clashes Were Orchestrated

Though many social factors were behind the Manezh clashes last month, the action itself was orchestrated by political forces interested in destabilizing...

Manezh Clashes Were Orchestrated

Though many social factors were behind the Manezh clashes last month, the action itself was orchestrated by political forces interested in destabilizing...

Khloponin Considers Cossacks for North Caucasus

Alexander Khloponin, the North Caucasus special envoy, has said his "first task" should be to rely on a Cossack revival to return ethnic Russians...
opinion Paul Goble

Khloponin Considers Cossacks for North Caucasus

Alexander Khloponin, the North Caucasus special envoy, has said his “first task” should be to rely on a Cossack revival to return ethnic Russians to...

Chechnya Is More Violent Than Reported

Ivan Sydoruk, the deputy prosecutor general of the North Caucasus Federal District, told federal senators that "a large portion of weapons are obtained...
opinion Paul Goble

Chechnya Is More Violent Than Reported

Ivan Sydoruk, the deputy prosecutor general of the North Caucasus Federal District, told federal senators that “a large portion of weapons are obtained...

FSB's Bill Holds Hidden Dangers for Free Speech

Human rights activists have succeeded in eliminating a provision of a draft bill on state secrets that would have blocked the media from covering...
opinion Paul Goble

FSB's Bill Holds Hidden Dangers for Free Speech

Human rights activists have succeeded in eliminating a provision of a draft bill on state secrets that would have blocked the media from covering most...

State Readies for Street Clashes

Until recently, officials and politicians have downplayed the risk of massive street clashes and the state's preparation for them. But now, they...
opinion Paul Goble

State Readies for Street Clashes

Until recently, officials and politicians have downplayed the risk of massive street clashes and the state's preparation for them. But now, they have a...

Resin Wants Hearings on Religious Construction

The acting mayor of the Russian capital has called for holding public hearings on all construction projects for churches, mosques and synagogues...
opinion Paul Goble

Resin Wants Hearings on Religious Construction

The acting mayor of the Russian capital has called for holding public hearings on all construction projects for churches, mosques and synagogues. That...

Moscow Wants Emigrees Home, At Lower Cost

Moscow spent less than a quarter of the amount that it had budgeted to attract compatriots living overseas to come back to Russia, a slide that...
opinion Paul Goble

Moscow Wants Emigrees Home, At Lower Cost

Moscow spent less than a quarter of the amount that it had budgeted to attract compatriots living overseas to come back to Russia, a slide that lessens...

Group Proposes an 'Ethnic Russian' Republic

In a move that could be called either a provocation by Russian regionalists and a power grab by a federal district, a self-described civic group...
opinion Paul Goble

Group Proposes an 'Ethnic Russian' Republic

In a move that could be called either a provocation by Russian regionalists and a power grab by a federal district, a self-described civic group has proposed...

Dagestan Plans Anti-Terror Units, Worrying Locals

Anti-terrorist units in Chechnya have accrued a horrible human rights record. But officials in Dagestan say violence in their republic now is warranting...
opinion Paul Goble

Dagestan Plans Anti-Terror Units, Worrying Locals

Anti-terrorist units in Chechnya have accrued a horrible human rights record. But officials in Dagestan say violence in their republic now is warranting...

GONGOs Are Returning in Force

GONGOs, or government-organized non-governmental organizations, are increasingly being used by Russian authorities to elbow aside genuine NGOs, a Russian...
opinion Paul Goble

GONGOs Are Returning in Force

GONGOs, or government-organized non-governmental organizations, are increasingly being used by Russian authorities to elbow aside genuine NGOs, a Russian...

Siberia's Status in Russia on Par With Russia's in the World

According to a leading economist, Siberia increasingly is to Russia what Russia is to the world: a supplier of raw materials that those who are...

School Closings Indicate 'Internal Decolonization' of Russia

A hunger strike by parents, teachers and graduates to protest the closure of five schools in the Ulyanovsk region has called attention to a broader...

Police No Longer Feel the Need to Deny Use of Torture

A recent article in the Russian edition of Newsweek notes that while some policemen have been charged with using torture, most of those suspected...

Terrorism Threats Cover Up Corruption in Sochi, Analysts Say

In the last several weeks, ever more evidence has come out that corruption is making the Sochi Olympics the most expensive in history, a charge that...

Kadyrov Reaches Out to Chechens Outside His Republic

In his latest bid to boost his power in Grozny and his influence in Moscow, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov is seeking closer ties with the roughly...

Internet Can't Compensate for Kremlin's Info Blockade, Analysts Say

Too few Russians currently go online for their news in order to compensate for Moscow deciding to throw an information blockade around events that...

Russia's Roads Collapsing From More Traffic, Less Money

Even as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin again promises to complete a trans-Russia highway and as Moscow media report progress on several high-profile...

Could Kyrgyzstan Cease to Exist?

Deteriorating conditions in Kyrgyzstan and increasing evidence that the provisional government is not in control of the situation, especially in the wake...

Reports Say Ethnic Violence Rising in Kyrgyzstan

The Russian embassy in Bishkek has sent a diplomatic note to the Kyrgyz foreign ministry saying Russian citizens and compatriots have complained...

Russians Now Face-to-Face With Terrorism

The most important consequence of the terrorist attack in the Moscow metro is that Russians are facing up to the reality that terrorism is not something...

Terrorism Ultimately Costs Citizens Their Freedom

A commentary in this week's Novaya Gazeta points out that Russian officials view terrorist acts as another reminder that they "are not in a position...

Kremlin Misreading Latest Round of Protests

In an editorial published this week in Nezavisimaya Gazeta, the paper's editors write that unless Moscow understands the reality of the recent nationwide...

'War of the Worlds' Broadcast Highlights Pathologies of Georgian-Russian Relations

A hoax broadcast on Georgian television about a Russian invasion has sparked discussion about the dangers of such a TV show in the current environment...

Nation Forcibly Deported Under Brezhnev Now at Risk

The last survivors of a pre-Turkic civilization in Central Asia and the last nation to be forcibly deported by the Soviet government are now rapidly...

'Russian Mafia' Abroad Now 300,000 Strong, Journal Says

A recent report in Versiya claims that up to 300,000 members of Russian criminal organizations have succeeded in pushing aside local groups and establishing...

Moscow's Muslim Slums Now Breeding Grounds for Despair

Only 200 meters from the Garden Ring Road, the settlement of Chelobityevo houses some 3,000 Muslims from Central Asia whose misfortunes people in Moscow...

Nearly 80% of Draft-Age Russians Unhealthy, Sources Say

The share of the draft-age cohort whose health permits them to serve without restrictions has fallen from 94.7 percent in 1985 to 51 percent in 2009...

Who Will Manage the 2 Million Shiites of Russia?

Russia's three largest Muslim spiritual directorates are now actively discussing the possible formation of a single Muslim hierarchy, but neither they...

Moscow Fears Regional Officials Who Obey Law More Than Those Who Don't, Russian Commentator Says

Protests like those in Kaliningrad and, even more, the response of Moscow to them seem likely to corrode still further the ties between the population...

Internet Editions of Crimean Tatar Newspapers Disappearing

With many Crimean Tatar online news outlets closing down, minority nationalities are losing vital fora of debate and connections with their diaspora...

Worst is Yet to Come at Sayano-Shushenskaya and in Moscow, Petition Warns

A petition is calling for authorities to investigate claims that a mass of ice is pressing against the Sayano-Shushenskaya dam, creating the risk...

One-Third of Russian Militiamen Psychopaths or Alcoholics, Expert Says

The end of psychological screening of applicants to the police force in the 1990s has brought many unhealthy and even dangerous people into its...

Dagestani Mullahs Plan to Counter Ideological Challenge of Militants via the Internet

Religious leaders, who view the battle against terrorism to be at least as much an ideological campaign as a law-enforcement matter, are increasingly...

Kirill Expanding Patriarchate's Missionary Effort in Russia and Abroad

The Moscow Patriarchate has opened its first seminary outside the former Soviet Union, housing the small start-up in a former Catholic convent &mdash...

Closure of Soviet Concentration Camps Where 'Arbeit Macht Frei' First Appeared Recalled

The Solovetsky Camps of Special Assignment &mdash known by the Russian acronym "SLON" &mdash were established in February 1920 in the prison in a monastery...

Neo-Nazis Are a Threat to Russia, Polish Analyst Says

A Polish commentator writes of how neo-Nazi organizations in Russia are evolving and beginning to pose a greater threat to society.

Climate Change Hitting Russia's Northern People First and Hardest

The indigenous population of Russia's North is already feeling effects of climate change on their traditional ways of life: Reindeer herds are dying...

Kadyrov Aide Calls for Establishing 'Radio Caucaus' to Fight Extremism

An adviser to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov suggested earlier this week that a special "Caucasus Radio" be established in Russia to discuss the region's...

'A Criminal Society is Easier to Rule Because All Feel Themselves Guilty'

In an essay on the Grani.ru site today, Irina Pavlova points out that speeches by Medvedev and others at the United Russia party permit only a single...

Will 'Bloggerization' of Russian Bureaucracy Change Relationship Between State and Citizens?

The Internet and even the more limited blogosphere are simply not going to transform Russian political life or Russian culture as quickly as many of the partisans...

Russia's Real 'Middle Class' — Those Who Own Cars — Gains a Victory

The reluctance of regional officials to impose the new higher licensing fees and the subsequent decision of the Kremlin to call on the Duma...

Officials Accused of Blocking Relocation Aid to Radiation Victims

Despite presidential decrees and a much ballyhooed resettlement program, Rosatom has done everything it can to prevent some 4,000 people in Muslyumovo...

Kyrgyz Prisons Becoming 'Universities of Religious Extremism'

What kind of future awaits Kyrgyzstan if the ruling powers not only don't control the capital and distant villages but don't even have control of the criminals...

Far Eastern Republic of the 1920s as Model for the Future Sparks Debate in Vladivostok

The far eastern republic's mixed economy, which made use of both market forces and state capitalism, might have allowed it to become one of the most...

Another Soviet Practice Returns as Moscow Installs a Russian as No. 2 in Ingushetia

Like its Soviet predecessor, the Russian Federation government likes to have its own people in powerful positions in its republics, and over the last...

Basargin Admits Moscow Lacks a Strategy for Dealing With Company Towns

No one would deny that each of these single-company towns presents unique aspects, but this one-town-at-a-time approach seems certain to take a long...

Relying on Traditional Structures Unlikely to Stabilize North Caucasus

The latest example of a North Caucasian leader turning to traditional arrangements in support of his government is unlikely to achieve either of the goals...

Tatar Nationalists Demonstrate on Eve of Clinton's Kazan Visit

In the past, the Russian government has sought with to play off Tatar nationalism against Islam as part of a "divide and rule" strategy, but if...

Reopening of Turkish Border to Create Shift Between Armenia and Its Diaspora

Such a change in the Armenian mentality will almost inevitably lead to a change in the relationship between Armenians in Armenia and the Armenians...

MVD Enforcing Ideological Conformity Within Its Ranks

An officer in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) says his agency is "squeezing out" from its own ranks anyone who thinks differently than...

Voting Rights Group Says 'Falsifications' in Moscow Elections Inevitable

Because the Russian Constitution mandates elections and because Russian laws governing them support the holding of such votes, Andrei Buzin, president...

Vladivostok Denies Plan to Lease Half of City to China

A story that has its origins in a purported proposal from specialists to help the Far Eastern city cope with its budget issues quickly attracted...

Delay in Census to 2013 Could Open Door to Lies

The government has rescheduled the national census that had been set for 2010 to 2013, citing budgetary shortfalls as a result of the economic crisis...

Could Turkey be the Next Country to Recognize Abkhazia?

There appears to be a chance that Turkey might break the embargo against recognition of the rebel region because of Ankara's desire to play a greater...

Moscow Shifts Subsidies From Caucasus to Russian Regions

As a result of the economic crisis and because "the south of Russia and the North Caucasus republics are the most subsidized," according to Vice...

Moscow's Policies Undermining Russia's Position in North Caucasus

Moscow may find itself in the same position that many colonial powers have in the past: It may be able to win every battle in the North Caucasus...

Western Reaction Keeps Moscow From Annexing South Ossetia

Eduard Kokoity, president of the breakaway republic of South Ossetia, says he is "in principle" ready to have his country absorbed by the Russian...

North Caucasian Draftees Undermining Russian Military

North Caucasians form an increasing fraction of the Russian military, leading to an increase in the number of ethnic clashes within certain units...

Church Makes Efforts at Gulag Remembrance

The Church, however, is almost exclusively concerned with memorializing Orthodox clergy and believers who perished in the gulag rather than all who...

Chechnya Rapidly Becoming Russia's Algeria

Chechnya is rapidly becoming Russia's Algeria, according to a Moscow commentator, and not only because most Russians see it as an inalienable part...

Medvedev Seeks "Real, Not Cosmetic" Stability in North Caucasus

President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia must pursue "real, not cosmetic" stability in the North Caucasus, an indication of just how much the security...

Sakhalin Residents Petition to Join Japan

A group of Sakhalin residents is collecting signatures for a petition asking that Moscow hand over their island to Japan so that they can live and raise...

Military Suffering Casualties in War Games

Deaths incurred during joint exercises with other countries are caused by sloppy errors on both sides, such as the use of outdated or distorted maps...

Eight Reasons to Become Ukrainian

Patriarch Kirill's suggestion that he is ready to acquire dual citizenship in Ukraine has prompted activists of the Russian National-Democratic Movement...

Group Says Power Vertical Threatens Republics

Tatar and Bashkir groups this week attacked "authoritarian tendencies" in the federal government, saying the behavior could lead to "the systematic...

Chechens in Fear After Memorial's Departure

"What is to become of the tens and hundreds of those who had turned to Memorial as one of the few organizations that really tried to help people...

Hackers Increasingly Targeting Religion Sites

The trend reflects in part the growing importance of the Internet in Russian religious life.

'Only North Korea Has a Registration System Like Moscow's'

A group of legal activists is working in the Russian capital to help people moving there comply with the law and work with a government registration...

High Mortality Among Men Undercuts Moscow's Pro-Birth Policies

Extremely high mortality rates among Russian men of child-bearing age, rates far higher than those in other developed countries and largely the result...

Iranian Events Provide Lessons for Russians, Moscow Journalist Says

The events in Iran clearly demonstrate "that the presence or absence in any country of an opposition, of a real political struggle, in the final...

Beyond Pikalyovo - Urals Workers Seize Control of Plant's Finances

Inspired by the example of Pikalyovo, where workers blocked a federal highway to call attention to their plight, employees at many other enterprises...

Wealthier Moscow Teenagers More Inclined to View U.S. as Russia's Enemy

Nearly half of Muscovite teenagers in relatively well-off family circumstances currently view the United States as an enemy of Russia, a view that...

Moscow Gave Four Times More Hero Medals in Chechen War than in Afghanistan

Vienna, June 15 &mdash The Russian defense ministry has named 322 of its soldiers Heroes of the Russian Federation for their actions in the two...

Moscow's Anti-Extremism Effort Targeting Ever More Groups

Moscow has expanded the list of groups that it is targeting in its anti-extremism campaign to include not only Islamists and religious "sectarians...

40 of Russia's 700 Penal Institutions Recall Soviet Concentration Camps, Rights Activists Say

Forty of Russia's 700 penal institutions have features which resemble those of Soviet-era concentration camps, according to a leading Moscow human...

Moscow's Policies Unwittingly Promoting Islamist Extremism

Despite the Kremlin's expanded "anti-extremism" measures and its pledges to fight Islamist movements, Russian authorities have adopted policies that...

Moscow Distances Itself from Article Blaming Poland for Starting WWII

The Defense Ministry said today that an article put on its site a few days ago that has sparked outrage with its suggestion that Poland was to blame...

Why Do Ethnic Russians Convert to Islam?

Andrey Ignatyev, a specialist on the sociology of religion at Russian State Humanitarian University, seeks to answer the question of why ethnic...

Moscow Broadens Definition of 'Extremism'

After transferring thousands of Interior Ministry officers from the fight against organized crime to the struggle with extremism, the Russian government...

Why More Russian Archives are Likely to Close

A quirk in Russian law allows an official President Dmitry Medvedev has charged with combating historical falsifications to have a decisive voice...

Economic Crisis Leads Moscow to Cut Back on 2010 Census Plans

The economic crisis is forcing Moscow to cut back on the number of questions they will ask and languages they will use in the census scheduled...