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This isn’t 1980 and Theresa May isn’t Jimmy Carter

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  • 10601 Views
  • 27 March 2018
  • James Pearce , PhD Candidate

I expected to see articles popping up comparing the British Prime Minister to Jimmy Carter on the eve of the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

On the face of it, the soil was fertile for a comparative piece: a partial boycott of a global sporting event, which will show case Russia to the world and a time where relations between Russia and the West are and were at low points; not to mention that both are considered weak leaders playing bad

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The Big Issue On The Campaign Trail

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  • 11236 Views
  • 21 February 2018
  • James Pearce , PhD Candidate

As a Russian historian, I could not help but notice the not so subtly obvious. Every night on Rossiya 1 and Perviy Kanal, the candidates have been talking about Russian history like it is going out of fashion.

They and the Russian public are well aware of the urgent issues. Indeed, I could use up my words listing them. Yet, conduct a simple Google or Yandex search and the candidates are all s

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Alterglobalismul. Fațeta „lumii islamice”

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  • 11358 Views
  • 16 February 2018
  • Dr. Octavian Sergentu

În ultimele decenii ale secolului XXI o parte dintre politologi s-au aplecat asupra fenomenului  „alterglobalismului”, prin care au evaluat „lumea islamică” și „lumea rusă”. Subiectul rămâne deschis și astăzi, ori acesta impune o abordare riguroasă atunci când ne focalizăm pe fenomen ab integrum  și, în același timp, cere o raționalizare a parametrilor și contextului în care se exprimă fenomenul. Nu este un concept alambicat și nici propagandistic, dispun

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Azebaijan, cheia geostrategică a Asiei Centrale

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  • 22499 Views
  • 13 February 2018
  • Cercet. drd. Vlad A. Crișan

După destrămarea URSS, Azerbaijanul a fost statul ex-sovietic care alături de    republicile Baltice a avut o dezvoltare constantă și durabilă. Desigur, aici pot fi adresate unele critici regimului de la Baku cu privire la democrație, care în opinia multor analiști este doar mimată la Baku. Însă faptul adevărat este că acest stat a reușit să își gestioneze eficient resursele de care dispune pentru a deveni o societate prosperă. I se atribuie Azerbaijanului etichet

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Cecenia – o istorie tristă a rezistenței la rusificare

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  • 14483 Views
  • 12 February 2018
  • Viorel Irascu

Cecenia este o republică autonomă din cadrul marii Federații Ruse, aflată pe linia nordică a Munților Caucaz, având ca vecini la vest Ingușetia și Osetia de Nord, la est Republica Daghestan, la nord ținutul Stavropol din Rusia, iar la sud Georgia.

Situația Ceceniei este una singulară la nivelul cordonului de state tampon din Caucazul de Nord, fiind singura unde s-au dus două războaie civile, cel de-al doilea continuând ș

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Who is Pavel Grudinin?

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  • 10222 Views
  • 1 February 2018
  • James Pearce , PhD Candidate

The Communist Party surprised the world by nominating a new candidate for president. Its veteran leader and multi-time presidential candidate, Gennady Zyuganov, lost the party membership’s vote to run against President Putin in 2018, after announcing his bid on the 100th anniversary of the October Revolution.

Instead, a 57-year-old Sovkhoz owner who was not even a party member got the nomination.

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Who is Ksenia Sobchak?

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  • 10429 Views
  • 30 December 2017
  • James Pearce , PhD Candidate

An unlikely presidential candidate, in 2017 socialite and TV personality, Ksenia Sobchak, announced her intention to run in the Russian Presidential Election 2018. She claimed this would be an ‘against all’[1] bid for the presidency.

Ksenia Sobchak will be the first woman to run for the Russian presidency in fourteen years. This move was greeted with cynicism and intrigue in Russia and the W

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How The Russian Presidential Election Works

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  • 10396 Views
  • 27 December 2017
  • James Pearce , PhD Candidate

Since 2008, Russian presidents are directly elected to a six-year term and are limited to serving a maximum of two.

The Russian president is elected in a two round system. The first round (March 18) features all registered candidates on the ballot. If no candidate reaches a majority of votes, the second round takes place three weeks later and is a run-off between the two candidates with the highest vote.

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Russia: Four Things to Watch in 2018

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  • 10342 Views
  • 22 December 2017
  • James Pearce , PhD Candidate

1. Putin's Probable Re-election

The 2018 presidential election is not so much about who will win, but who will later succeed Putin. According to the Russian constitution, Putin has one six-year term remaining. By the end of this term (2024), he will be in his 70s.

There appears no obvious successor emerging in the background. However, Putin himself was never expected to succeed Boris Yeltsin. This has led many commenta

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What Can Democrats Learn From Alabama’s Doug Jones?

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  • 14169 Views
  • 30 November 2017
  • James Pearce , PhD Candidate

In ordinary circumstances, Doug Jones would already be preparing to move to Washington DC. The former prosecutor famous for convicting KKK members for a church bombing is up against gay bashing, God and gun lovin’, twice kicked out of elected office, Judge Roy Moore. A man who has eight accusers of sexual assault, all of whom were underage at the time of the allegations.

Yet, if one looks at all the recent polls, they show a ti

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