Featured
Benjamin Nathans revisits the drama behind the Soviet dissident movement
We have the basic plot of the story, but we don’t know the drama behind the plot.
Thank You, Comrade Stalin, for Ben Carson
In Russia, the Dulles Plan was a pre-digital Internet meme, from back in the days when memes had to walk twenty miles in the freezing cold before finding a gullible...
Tatiana Saburova and Ben Eklof on Charushin and the lives of Russian populist intellectuals
Nikolai Charushin and his generation of populists insisted that every step of their revolutionary lives should be guided by ethical principles.
The Devil Went Down to Zavolzhsk (Pelagia and the White Bulldog 2)
Bubentsov is going to make this provincial town matter, whether the town wants it or not.
Open Letter on the Termination of Russian Studies Faculty at Ohio University
Like you, we are wholeheartedly invested in the survival and recovery of higher education in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That recovery depends on the will of universities...
The Devil Is No Match for Procedural Liberalism (Pelagia and the White Bulldog (Conclusion))
The rule of law is boring, but necessary
Red Fingerprints: The Soviet Legacy in the Horn of Africa
It is symbolic that the most enduring legacy of the Soviet Union on the African continent is the Kalashnikov pattern rifle.
Putin: Fascist or "Merely" Soviet? Part I
In many ways, Putin's regime meets the expanded definition of fascism. In recent years, Russian public discourse has become increasingly nationalistic, with Putin positioning Russia as a singular civilization locked...
Putin: Fascist or "Merely" Soviet? Part II
Putin’s worldview owes less to apocalyptic fascisms like Nazism than to his experiences as a young man working in the Soviet intelligence service. At base, he is a conservative whose...
Forcing Consensus: A Show Debate in the Early GDR
Whereas Stalin’s show trials featured confessions and executions, the aim of the show debate was to persuade the institute’s council of party members at the institute, the party-group to drop...
How Higher Education Keeps Dictators in Power
For authoritarian regimes, however, investing in universities also poses a risk. Cultivating a robust system of higher education may facilitate the development of a middle class and politically active youth...
Russians will be voting on Sunday. Here’s what you need to know.
Seven things to know about the coming election.
Alessandro Stanziani explores the history of Russian economy in a global perspective
The NYU Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia and the Department of History welcomed economic historian Alessandro Stanziani, Professor at École des hautes études en sciences sociales and...
Provincial Purity vs. Capital Crimes (Pelgaia and the White Bulldog 7)
Capitals destroy the soul.
Do anti-corruption campaigns work? David Szakonyi presents evidence from Russia.
Research from Russia suggests that financial disclosure requirements may dissuade corrupt incumbents from seeking re-election.
Spaces of Movement: Moving Away from the State or Moving the State
It was a lively and diverse symposium that took place on Friday, March 15, when the Jordan Center in cooperation with the Hagop Kevorkian Center brought together four prolific scholars...
Gubernatorial Tenure, Turnover, and Succession in Russia
There are striking differences in how long regional executives remain in office in different multilevel autocracies. For example, China has a compulsory retirement rule for provincial heads at the age...
Navalny’s Back. What Will Putin Do Next?
Shortly before Alexei Navalny's arrival at Vnukovo Airport, riot police dispersed several hundred supporters and arrested dozens before closing the airport altogether and forcing the last-minute diversion of incoming flights....
The Belarus Government is Largely Ignoring the Pandemic. Here's Why.
By officially denying the covid-19 danger while benefiting from other countries’ response to the coronavirus — and with Belarusians promoting social distancing despite Lukashenka’s denials — the Belarusian government has...
Saving a Tatar Communist From Stalinist and Cold-War Historiographies: The Political Economy of Nations
Mirsaid Sultan-Galiev (1892-1940) was a communist, an anti-colonial revolutionary, and a devout Muslim. Born in the Bashkir village of Elembet’evo in Ufa, he was raised in a family of mixed...