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Articles by Vladimir Ryzhkov

opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why We Should Welcome Russia Rejoining PACE

Losing its place in the Сouncil of Еurope would hurt Russia's civil society and increase the country’s isolation.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Usual Suspects Gobble Up Russia's Budget Pie

Adverse changes on the world scene, the loss of energy markets, the decline in oil prices, Western sanctions, a lack of domestic reforms, capital...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Syrian Adventure Will Cost Russians Dearly

"Has the country run out of poor people?" is a fitting question to today's Russian leaders who, not having ended the geopolitical and military conflict...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Attitude to Stalin Reveals Russia's Considerable Divide

It is ironic that the monument to the victims of Stalin's terror — which the country has been waiting for since the former Soviet dictator died...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Electoral Changes Make Duma Less Legitimate

Electoral law is the most unstable area of Russian legislation.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin Has Russians' Loyalty, But for How Long?

President Vladimir Putin has built up huge reserves of popular support during his 15 years in power.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Direct Elections Won’t Help Russia’s Opposition

One of the few things the mass protests in the winter of 2011-12 achieved was the return of direct elections for State Duma deputies representing...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Gaidar's Departure Is a Sad Sign of the Times

Maria Gaidar's decision to go to Ukraine to serve as vice governor of the Odessa region under former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and to...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Pivot East Won't Solve Russia's Problems (Op-Ed)

Simply moving business to the East or South cannot provide Russia with the modernized financial resources it needs, writes columnist Vladimir Ryzhkov...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Yerevan Shows Fragility of Post-Soviet Regimes

Armenia is Russia's main ally in the Caucasus and, at the same time, one of the poorest countries of the world.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russian Orthodox Church Facing Ukraine Split

President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said that he considers Russians and Ukrainians "a single people." He justified annexing Crimea and providing...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia's Foreign Agents Law Is Recipe for Disaster

The law on international and foreign "undesirable organizations" that the State Duma adopted, President Vladimir Putin signed and that entered into force...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russians Must Ditch Illusions for Bright Future

Analysts traditionally classify authoritarian regimes as either successful or unsuccessful, based on their political stability, rate of economic growth...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russians Must Keep Their Abhorrence of War

During the 70 years since the great victory over Nazi Germany, the interpretation of that event by first Soviet, and later Russian, authorities has...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia's New Totalitarianism Depends on Silence

The ability of NGOS and other aspects of civil society to withstand the attacks of the Russian authorities will determine Russia's future, writes...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Kremlin Doesn't Have Monopoly on Patriotism

Today, a Russian patriot is anyone who supports the annexation of Crimea and who believes that a "fascist junta" rules in Kiev, that the separatist...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russian Imperialism Will Unleash New Yugoslavia

Russia managed to avoid a Yugoslavia-like conflict with its neighbors in the 1990s, but it looks like Putin is now leading the country in that direction...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Nemtsov's Brutal Murder Benefits the Kremlin

The detestable murder of Boris Nemtsov shocked all of Russia.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The Absurd World of Russian Public Opinion

Hurray! We are attacking! Thank God! Many are dead and wounded! Thank God!" Thus exclaimed "good soldier Svejk" from the eponymous immortal novel by Jaroslav...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia Must Forget Yalta and Face Facts in Minsk

Today the whole world will anxiously await news from Minsk, where the "Normandy Four" — Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France — will try to reach...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia Needs Europe for Reform, Modernization

Even as Russian leaders proclaim the impossibility of isolating Russia and their own unwillingness to see it happen, Russia's movement toward self-imposed...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Marking 110 Years Since Russia's Bloody Sunday

Just over 110 years ago, on Jan. 9, 1905, a huge throng of factory workers from all over St. Petersburg converged on the Winter Palace.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia's NGOs Are Under Increasing Pressure

On Dec. 9, after long months of inspections and pressure from the authorities, the Justice Ministry included the Moscow School of Civic Education...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin Must Change Direction or Face a Coup

As the Ukrainian crisis intensified in recent months and after Western states imposed sanctions not only on Russia, but even on close associates of President...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Kazakhstan Benefits From Russia's Misfortune

On Nov. 11, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev unexpectedly delivered a major speech to his people in which he unveiled a "new economic policy"...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia's Repression of Crimean Tatars Repeats U.S.S.R.'s Mistake

The most serious ethno-political conflict in Russia today is not the intense xenophobia found in Moscow, St. Petersburg or even Chechnya, but the rising...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Paranoid Russia Now Sees Enemies Everywhere

When senior Soviet officials wanted to set down the ideological or conceptual framework by which citizens should understand current events, they issued...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Kremlin Policies Put Economy Under Pressure

Crimea will contribute about three percentage points to inflation this year.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

United Russia Wins Elections But Not Respect


On Sept. 14, 2014, Russia once again held local and regional elections throughout the country. United Russia won a landslide victory while the other...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Ukrainian Conflict Spells Disaster for Russia

Speaking at the Seliger 2014 National Youth Forum in late August, President Vladimir Putin said that there are people in this country who are working...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

What Putin and Russia Can Learn From China

President Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012, his new reactionary course, and now the acute crisis concerning Ukraine have finally taken...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's War on NGOs Threatens Russia's Future

The Justice Ministry continues to officially label leading Russian human rights organizations as "foreign agents." According to a law passed in 2012...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia Needs Dissidents Like Novodvorskaya

Valeria Novodvorskaya is dead. Novodvorskaya was not only an opposition politician, human rights activist and Soviet dissident who endured prison and Soviet...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin Can't Afford His Middle Class Base


Russia's middle class is at once the mainstay of society and the greatest threat to the current political regime, writes columnist Vladimir Ryzhkov...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Poroshenko's Peace Plan Is Anything But

Poroshenko's long-awaited plan will likely fail because it ignores Russia's fundamental geopolitical differences with the West, writes columnist Vladimir...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia is Burdened by the Weight of Empire

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia is now moving along its own neo-imperial path, and the rapidly mounting burden of that course carries serious...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Controlling Russians Through Travel Bans

Government bans on some types of international travel creates a siege mentality and increases antagonism towards the West, writes columnist Vladimir...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russians Feel That Great Power High – Again

The "nation of consumers" that arose in the boom years of the 2000s has shifted its focus. It is now elated that the country has extended its influence...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia's Self-Isolation

Putin has firmly set Russia on the path toward restoring its superpower status based on an anti-Western and nationalist state ideology.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's New Corporatist State

Corporatism, a top-down political model for state control, originated in Europe in the 1920s and 1930s. It is coming back under Putin.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's Federalization Card in Ukraine

Introducing federalization in a highly unstable country that is on the brink of economic collapse could intensify the forces that are already pulling...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The New Putin Doctrine

Under Putin, Russia has become a powerful country once again and now has the right to flaunt its own double standards, just like the U.S.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The Kremlin's War Propaganda

In authoritarian countries like Russia, independent information is losing out to mass propaganda, and whole populations have become victims of brainwashing...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's Crimean Trap

By invading Crimea and threatening to annex it, Moscow has violated the basic principle of the inviolability of borders. This has both CIS states...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

No Real Elections in Regions

The Kremlin has begun dismantling the modest political reforms that were instituted after the protests of late 2011 and early 2012.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The Failing Ukrainian State

The greatest threat to Ukraine is not the protests or Yanukovych. The primary threat is the growing chaos and complete disintegration of society...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Our Own Bin Laden

The Caucasus Emirate wants to establish an Islamic Sharia-based state in the North Caucasus and even beyond, and it has declared jihad against all infidels...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Khodorkovsky's New Fight for Civil Society

As a free man, Khodorkovsky will fight to win the release of political prisoners and try to build a stronger and more responsible civil society...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Expect More Anti-U.S. Venom in the State Media

The journalists Dmitry Kiselyov will cultivate at Rossia Sevodnya will likely copy his venomous anti-U.S., anti-gay and anti-liberal rhetoric.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Civil Society Unites Behind Kudrin

Alexei Kudrin is attempting to expand his image by serving as a leader for those who advocate civil society, including the opposition.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's Distorted History

In the new history textbook just released for schoolchildren, Ivan the Terrible is a "reformer," Stalin is a "modernizer," the democratic achievements...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russia's March Toward Ruin

Never before have the ruling elite so publicly and openly whipped up anti-migrant and xenophobic sentiments in society as they have over the past...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The Kremlin's Pogrom Mentality

Elevating xenophobia and Russian nationalism to the rank of official policy could result in the collapse of Russia, much like what happened to the...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Same Old Kremlin, Same Old Surkov

The decision by President Vladimir Putin to appoint Vladislav Surkov as a presidential aide for social and economic relations with Abkhazia and Ossetia...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin Finally Talks With the Opposition

This year's Valdai conference was unlike any other. Putin went out of his way to give opposition members a chance to ask questions.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Corrupt Clans Lead Siberian Regions to Ruin

I took an active part in the elections held in two beautiful republics of Siberia: Tyva and Khakasia. They offered a clear example of the dysfunctional...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Regional Elites See United Russia's Stock Falling

The regional elections to be held on Sept. 8 prove that the leaden and inert politics that characterized Russia in the 2000s are gone forever and that...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why the Regions Hate Moscow

As regional cities and towns languish in a vicious circle of blight and hopelessness, Russia's wealth and power are concentrated in Moscow.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why the Altai Forest Is Going Bare

Corruption and nepotism are the largest threats to one of the most precious natural resources in the Altai region: its pine forests.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The Kremlin Is Split Over Navalny

Navalny was convicted on Nelson Mandela Day. While Mandela gives inspiration to anyone struggling against tyranny, Putin may find his own twisted inspiration...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Kremlin Manipulation of Elections Continues

The Kremlin has two tactics to guarantee victory for its preferred candidates: If the pro-Kremlin candidate is popular, the authorities permit as...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why Khodorkovsky Will Face a 3rd Trial

The siloviki are afraid that once Khodorkovsky is released from prison, he will try to replace Russia's current regime with a more humane, democratic...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Kremlin's New Attack on Human Rights

The night raid on Lev Ponomaryov and his human rights organization has become the latest example of the assault on civil society by Putin's siloviki-driven...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The Kremlin's Managed Mayoral Election

The early mayoral election in Moscow has been engineered based on the standard Kremlin model of "managed democracy."
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Guriev Is Latest Victim of Putin's Police State

As in the Soviet era, everything foreign is now suspect. Yet the attack on Guriev shows that Putin's regime is even more repressive than the Soviet...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Operation Total Eradication of NGOs

A huge special operation involving the siloviki is underway to eliminate all independent NGOs.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Bolotnaya One Year On

In a frantic quest to boost his popularity, Putin resorted to exploiting the people's main phobias.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's Bolotnoye Show Trial

In the Moscow Trials of 2013, the role of Trotsky was given to Georgian politician Givi Targamadze, while two dozen ordinary Russians have been criminally...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The World's Largest Money Launderer

The risk for wealthy Russians of investing in Russia remains much higher than their risk of having money being discovered in an offshore account...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why Putin Will Miss Berezovsky

The Kremlin turned Berezovsky into the devil incarnate, blaming him for some of Russia's worst crimes over the past 20 years.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's Vertical Duma

The decision by the three fake "opposition" parties in the Duma to oust Dmitry Gudkov for speaking at a U.S. conference was the latest reminder...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Pekhtin's Mistake Was Investing in Miami

President Putin is not cracking down on corruption; he is warning officials to distance themselves from the U.S.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Anti-Gay Bill Takes Russia Back to Middle Ages

The anti-gay legislation is only a small battle in the larger war against the "creative class," opposition, contemporary artists, atheists and critical...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

United Russia's Phony Liberals

United Russia's "liberal manifesto," written by Putin's loyal apologists for authoritarianism, are making a pathetic attempt to pass themselves off...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Russians Dream of Joy and Life Without Putin

The latest in-depth research into modern Russian society was conducted by the Russian Academy of Science's Sociology Institute in cooperation with...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The Straw to Break Putin's Back

The adoption ban may be the straw that breaks the Kremlin's back and raises the question of whether Putin's regime has a moral right to rule the country...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Going From Georgian Wine to U.S. Adoptions

Like the no-holds-barred anti-Georgia campaign in 2006, which banned Georgian food and wine imports and halted mail and money transfers between Russia...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Gazprom Is an Environmental Hazard

While Gazprom tries to position itself in Europe as an environmentally responsible company, it is one of the largest threats to Russia's environment...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's Do-Nothing Speech

Putin does not have a unified economic strategy. Even the measures he announced to combat corruption were superficial.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why Russia's Golden Bridges Collapse

After 13 years of tolerating corruption as a necessary evil, it seems that the Kremlin has finally decided to initiate a tough anti-corruption campaign...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why Altai Has Become a Ghost Town

VIP poaching in the Altai republic goes largely unpunished. On a recent visit, there were no animals to see.

opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

New Strategy for Opposition

When the authorities allowed new political parties to be registered this year — including the Republican Party-Party of People's Freedom in August —...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

United Russia's Dirty Election Tricks in Barnaul

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who doubles as leader of United Russia, was so happy with his party's win in the regional and local elections held in mid-October...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Saratov's Horrible Roads Put Putin on Notice

Moscow is not Russia" is a phrase every Russian and Russia-watcher has heard. A simple trip 100 kilometers outside the Garden Ring is enough to convince...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Anatomy of Putin's Battle Against the Opposition

The key to Putin's black PR campaign is to portray the opposition as radicals, anarchists or ultranationalists who lack both a cogent political program...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Obama Caves In to Kremlin Repression

The Obama administration continues its cowardly retreat from its democratic principles. It did not make a single attempt to preserve Radio Liberty...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

The Church Has Replaced the Communist Party

The same people who once bowed before portraits of Vladimir Lenin and Communist leaders now pay homage to the Russian Orthodox Church and its icons.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Gudkov's Ouster Would Set a Precedent

Within days, maverick State Duma Deputy Gennady Gudkov is likely to be forced out of the parliament, setting a precedent that would mean any opposition-minded...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin Takes a Lesson From Lukashenko

The case of the now-famous punk group has conclusively proven to the world that Russia is an authoritarian country led by President-cum-dictator Vladimir...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

This Is a Terrible Time to Be a Dictator, Mr. Putin

The Kremlin and the people are headed toward a new round of conflict starting in September.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Kremlin's Pocket Duma and Courts

When United Russia needs a two-thirds majority to change the Constitution, the opposition parties in the Duma are always willing to lend their support...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

United Russia Gets a Little Help From Its Friends

According to leaked documents published by Novaya Gazeta, there is a secret Kremlin campaign to boost United Russia's results in the October regional elections...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Expect a Showdown With the Kremlin in the Fall

Since his inauguration on May 7, President Vladimir Putin has led an unprecedented campaign of tightening the screws on the opposition and nongovernmental...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Criminalizing the Right to Assembly

It is clear that Putin is moving toward a harsher form of authoritarianism, as evidenced by the reclassification of petty, administrative violations into...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

How the Protest Law Violates European Norms

The new law regulating protest rallies was rushed through the State Duma last week and signed by President Vladimir Putin on Friday just before Tuesday's...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why Putin Is Afraid of the People

After Moscow's large protests on May 6 and the following days, we can easily dispel two widely held opinions — that the protest movement had fizzled...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Why Putin's Days Are Numbered

On Monday, Vladimir Putin will take the presidential oath of office for the third time. After 12 years in power, Putin has increased his control over...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Putin's Latest Mockery

President-elect Vladimir Putin's speech before the State Duma last week was his first major public address after being elected in March. He used the occasion...
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Kremlin Sees Obama as Weak

U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul has encountered a much chillier reception than he apparently anticipated when he agreed to come to Moscow.
opinion Vladimir Ryzhkov

Replace Jackson-Vanik With the Magnitsky Act

A number of opposition leaders — including myself, Boris Nemtsov, Alexei Navalny and others — recently made an appeal to the U.S. Congress. We...