Russia: The beggar becomes the belligerent
In this week's New Statesman, we focus on Putin's Russia with reports from Bridget Kendall, Roman Shleinov and Jeremy Dear plus a gallery of photos of that nation's dead journalists.
In Russia
The danger of ranting in Russia
- By Matthew Schaaf
- 01 April 2008
How some ill-advised comments on an obscure blog resulted in a commenter being put on trial in Russia - part of a tightening grip over freedom of expression
Putin's war on civil society
- By Tom Porteous
- 21 February 2008
In the run-up to Russia's presidential elections, the Kremlin continues to undermine democratic institutions and independent NGOS
Secrets of the state
- By Andrey Kurkov
- 06 December 2007
The Whisperers: Private Life in Stalin's Russia
Orlando Figes Allen Lane, the Penguin Press, 740pp, £25
Vlad the Great
- By Orlando Figes
- 29 November 2007
Putin has dismantled the fragile democracy of the 1990s, but has never been more popular. The New Statesman's special focus on Russia, its politics, culture and society with Lilia Shevtsova, Artemy Troitsky, Robin Strummer and more
Loyalty card
- By Artemy Troitsky
- 29 November 2007
Even the most-travelled, open-minded Russians are singing Putin's tune, writes Artemy Troitsky, the country's best-known cultural journalist
Putin's copycats
- By Thomas de Waal
- 29 November 2007
Whether in pro-western or pro-Moscow states, repression and corruption are flourishing among Russia's neighbours.
Appetite for destruction
- By Robin Stummer
- 29 November 2007
Moscow's extraordinary architectural heritage is being wiped out in the ruthless pursuit of a new Russia
Wild, wild east
- By Lucy Ash
- 29 November 2007
Soviet-era cowboy films have inspired politicians, writers and cosmonauts alike
The modern Russian paradox
- By Lilia Shevtsova
- 29 November 2007
Ironies behind the elite’s confused thinking
Blue Noses
- 29 November 2007
Blue Noses are an art collective from Siberia. Their work has been exhibited worldwide. http://e-gallery.guelman.ru
Online exclusive
Russian journalism's body count
In October 2006 journalist Anna Politkovskaya - a prominent critic of the Kremlin - was murdered, just one of many reporters to die in suspicious circumstances in Russia in recent years
Also in Russia
Mourning Alexander Litvinenko
- By Ivar Amundsen
- 23 November 2007
A year on, Ivar Amundsen remembers his friend Alexander Litvinenko and reflects on the ruthlessness of Putin's Russia
Gay Cruise in stand-off with Russian Army
- By Gavin Knight
- 09 July 2007
Gavin Knight takes a river cruise with some of Moscow's defiant gay community and encounters the Russian army
Russia: The beggar becomes the belligerent
- By Bridget Kendall
- 07 June 2007
From threats over weapons systems to blame for the Litvinenko murder, President Putin is adopting a hostility towards the US and Europe not seen since the end of the Cold War. But, as Bridget Kendall reports from Russia, the west shares much of the blame through the arrogance it showed in the 1990s
Rules of the game
- By Roman Shleinov
- 07 June 2007
Investigative journalists are being picked off one by one in Russia. Their "crime", says Roman Shleinov, is not so much criticising Vladimir Putin as exposing the corrupt nexus between business and politics
Solidarity with our Russian colleagues
- By Jeremy Dear
- 05 June 2007
NUJ chief Jeremy Dear reports on attempts to evict Russia's journalism union from its HQ in the latest persecution of that nation's reporters


