Russian citizens owe it to Boris Nemtsov to keep the hope of democracy in Russia alive

Following the murder of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, a commemorative march was held by tens of thousands of people in Moscow and other Russian cities on 1 March. Tomila Lankina writes on the contribution Nemtsov made to politics within Russia and what his death means for the country’s opposition movements

Boris Nemtsov and the reproduction of the regional intelligentsia

This essay situates Boris Nemtsov as an individual in the broader sweep of Russia’s regional—and national—history. To what extent is the democratic development of particular regions a result of the force, drive, and charisma of particular transformational leaders? And, to what extent is Nemtsov himself a product of the particular social milieu conducive to the genesis of the public-minded, self-sacrificing crusader for the common good? If regional microcosms matter for understanding the genesis of the democratic leader, what are those elements of the longue durée of regional cultural, social, economic, and political fabrics that might help explain the phenomenon of Nemtsov? And how can Nemtsov’s own life help illuminate what aspects of regional histories we should study to explain the paradox of democratic resilience in particular regions and the potential of these regions to help transform national politics? This essay attempts to provide some answers to these questions by discussing the inter-temporal, political regime-transcending reproduction of human capital variations in Russia’s regions and specifically those related to the development of institutions of learning and science

Globalisation: Many Indias, many Russias

Tomila Lankina explains the ever-widening developmental disparities at a subnational level in both India and Russia. This is the first of two posts examining parallels and bilateral relations between India and Russia

Putin, Russia, and the moral imperative of the West

This weekend has seen protests across Russia in support of Alexei Navalny. Tomila Lankina argues that with citizens taking to the streets, western leaders and businesses should reflect on their own relationship with the country

Who supports the war? And who protests? The legacies of Tzarist social divide in Russia

Although Russian studies is a thriving field, there are significant gaps in our knowledge of Russian politics and society. One of the most significant blind spots is how Russian support for the war remains apparently robust, despite the atrocities inflicted on Ukraine and the tenuous justifications that have been offered for war. I draw on my own research to make sense of social responses to autocracy and the war. Specifically, I highlight the deep and intractable social inequalities within Russia that date back to the tzarist times and that the communist project never succeeded in obliterating. The social divides help explain why there has been no mass opposition to autocracy and the war

Electoral protests and political attitudes under electoral authoritarianism

Do opposition protests affect citizens’ attitudes in electoral autocracies? While existing research expects that as protests unfold in illiberal regimes support for the protesters will increase, there are only a few empirical tests of this hypothesis. Combining an original author-assembled protest event dataset with two nationally representative public opinion surveys that were in the field during the 2011-12 electoral protests in Russia, we examine whether and how protests affect political attitudes. We find that in the early weeks of the protest wave, opposition rallies generated support for the demands of the protest movement. Nevertheless, evidence also suggests that the effects of protests on attitudes are not uniform. The coverage of protests in national media, and the use of regime-led repression against protesters dampen support for the protest movement and its demands. Our findings make an original contribution to scholarship on authoritarian vulnerability and resilience to street discontent