Russia's new NGO law is more than a move against organizations receiving foreign funding. It is part of a broader campaign to squeeze out those the Kremlin sees as peddlers of "soft power."

The law, pushed through Russia's lower house by Vladimir Putin's United Russia party on Friday,...

Last month I wrote that there were grounds for cautious optimism in Russia's stance on Syria. Unfortunately recent events threaten to overwhelm them.

Although the events of the massacre near the town of Houla in Syria are still unclear, the scale of the tragedy is not. United Nations observers reported...

So as far as the Twittersphere is concerned, Occupy has come to Moscow. But one thing is for certain -- this isn't Occupy as we know it.

Following violent clashes between riot police and protesters last Sunday, the mood in Moscow has changed markedly. Police have stepped up their efforts...

High on election euphoria, Russia's opposition have been casting around for new causes to boost their support. They will only succeed, however, if they learn to recognize their own successes.

The protests in Moscow that repeatedly drew over 100,000 people to the streets calling for fair elections over recent months...

The United Nations Security Council is now crucial for Russia to achieve its foreign policy aims, and this should provide grounds for optimism over Syria.

For all the criticism levelled at Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, his government's policy of non-interference has remained remarkably consistent over the past decade....

Mitt Romney's claim on CNN that Russia represents America's "number one geopolitical foe" demonstrates how far the Republican party's relationship with Moscow has soured.

In June 2001, five months after President George W Bush had taken office, the story was quite different. His first meeting with then President...

Now the euphoria of the protest movement in Russia is abating, the opposition must choose between pragmatic unity or a foothold approach.

Since Vladimir Putin's victory in the 4 March presidential election there have been signs that the street protests of recent months were losing their lustre. Yet even before...

The stuttering of Russia's protest movement should be seen as a failure of leadership, not a reflection of Vladimir Putin's success.

After the relatively modest turnout at the protest on Moscow's Novy Arbat street last weekend it is tempting to see the events of the past few months...

Following his victory in Sunday's presidential election Vladimir Putin gave a tearful, patriotic speech to supporters in central Moscow befitting the characterisation of his election campaign as a battle. Having won another six years to enact 'plan Putina', however, his challenge may now be drawing back many of...

Vladimir Putin's preoccupation with shadowy political manoeuvring betrays a self-defeating unwillingness to engage in an open debate with the public.

Earlier this week Putin, Russia's prime minister and leading presidential candidate, released his latest pre-election article in the daily newspaper Moskovskie Novosti. The piece was...