As the “anti-blasphemy” bill passes the State Duma, prison sentences and fines for public insults and humiliation of divine services, as well as believers’ feelings, have become real. With the Russian state becoming increasingly anachronistic and failing to deliver on its promise of social modernisation, Alexander von Hahn sees the country’s nongovernmental organizations taking the initiative into their own hands.

Terrorism is a tactic of extremists within each religion, and within secular religions of Marxism or nationalism. No religion, including Islam, preaches indiscriminate violence against innocents, argues Juan Cole.

Contrary to what is alleged by bigots like Bill Maher, Muslims are not more violent than people of other religions. Murder rates in most of the Muslim world are very low compared to the United States.

With the world powers seemingly divided into two opposing blocs at the World Conference on International Telecommunications, Min Jiang looks at the conflict between “Internet freedom” and “Internet sovereignty” models.

Following the death of Hugo Chavez, what is next for Venezuela’s relationship with Russia?

Signaling an eagerness to maintain cozy ties with Venezuela, President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called for even stronger relations and praised the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as “a close friend of Russia.”

According to Alexander Golts, the Munich Security Conference marks the lowest point in US-Russian relations for the past 20 years. 

When a group of actors wants to portray a noisy crowd, they often say to each other, "What should we talk about when there's nothing to talk about?" It seems that U.S.-Russian relations are in the same state and that the only option left for the leaders of both countries is to behave like provincial actors repeating a meaningless jumble of words.

A new study entitled "What Russians Dream About" found that only 19% wish for a regime change. Vladimir Ryzhkov wonders how long this complacency will last, in view of deteriorating living standards, particularly among the working classes.

A Romney presidency will signal a re-evaluation of the relationship between Moscow and Washington, a strong commitment to Israel and a continuing push for the European powers to increase NATO’s defense spending.

A re-elected Barack Obama, despite his support for Russia's WTO membership, the signing of the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and his overlooking of the Kremlin’s crackdown on the opposition, may not really be preferred by Russia's leaders over Mitt Romney.

By Lilia Shevtsova and David J. Kramer

Even as Asia has been booming, the Arab world awakened and Africa now rising, Russia's "near abroad" is now on the ropes. The expectations following Independence have been dashed. Here is an account by someone who lives and works that regional trauma.

What happens if the current trends continue? What if Central Asia continues on its current path? What might life be like in 2025?

Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev spent the majority of Rio 20+ boasting Russia’s progress on carbon emission reductions, while ignoring the nation’s radioactive rivers and the plume of sulfur it belches over Norwegian skies.