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PRAGUE, August 4, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Moscow's new diplomatic assertiveness was on display for the world to see during last month's G8 summit in St. Petersburg. And one controversial topic that dominated the run-up to the summit has remained in the spotlight -- Russia's repeatedly stated intention of following its own democratic path, dubbed "sovereign democracy." The concept was formulated by Vyacheslav Surkov, the deputy chief and prime ideologue of President Vladimir Putin's administration. Surkov began floating the new ideology during speeches to activists of the pro-presidential Unified Russia party in February and May. Sovereign Democracy As outlined by Surkov...

The Trump administration’s abrupt freeze on foreign aid has plunged exiled Russian NGOs and media outlets into uncertainty, jeopardizing their funding and posing what some are describing as the greatest challenge to Russian civil society since the Kremlin enacted its “undesirable” organization law a decade ago. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a sweeping directive last Friday, pausing all foreign aid for 90 days. The move aims to give the Trump administration time to review which programs align with the president’s “America First” agenda and determine which should continue receiving U.S. funding. Organizations have been issued stop-work notices on...

Most of the world is focused on the war in Ukraine, which has created political unrest in most western countries. Although it feels as though Russia is under a microscope, there is a lot of Russian politics that the media has not discussed. One of these things is that there are rivals to Putin, one of whom is Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The Munich Security Conference took place two weeks ago. Although Russian officials are usually invited, this year that changed. Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, organizers decided to invite Russian politicians pushing to replace Putin. Those guests included multiple Russian...

Vladimir Kara-Murza is a leading opposition figure in Russia. On Tuesday, May 26, 2015, he collapsed suddenly and lost consciousness in his office at Open Russia in Moscow. He was rushed to Pervaya Gradskaya (First City Clinical) hospital where he remains on life support, unconscious with an undiagnosed illness of undetermined origins. Given the sudden, mysterious, and incapacitating nature of the illness, and the Putin regime’s appalling record with respect to the murders and mistreatment of prominent dissidents, there is widespread concern that Vladimir has been poisoned. His doctors have not ruled it out though one can imagine the pressure...

A Russian opposition leader is in intensive care in a Moscow hospital, and a lack of clarity about the cause of his sudden illness has raised fears of foul play. The First City Hospital said 33-year-old Vladimir Kara-Murza remained in grave condition Thursday, two days after he was admitted. The Interfax news agency, citing the hospital’s chief doctor, said he appeared to be suffering from pancreatitis and double pneumonia. …

The man who spent 10 years in prison for crossing Putin says the Russian regime will fall, one way or the other, and those who want a democracy to replace it need to get organized now. In December 2013, when Vladimir Putin released Mikhail Khodorkovsky from prison after 10 years, the former oil tycoon and political prisoner said he would not enter politics.... “When I left prison, I announced that I am not interested in engaging in politics. I never promised anyone I wouldn’t engage in it and I continue to be not interested in engaging in it,” Khodorkovsky told...

Russian prosecutors brought new charges Monday against the imprisoned founder of the Yukos oil company and one of his business partners, opening a new line of legal attack against a Kremlin opponent. The former executive, Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky, and his partner, Platon A. Lebedev, were charged with embezzlement and money laundering, which his lawyers said together could carry prison sentences of 15 years. The two men have been held since their arrests in 2003, and are serving eight-year sentences for tax evasion and other charges. Their lawyers said they had potentially qualified for parole late this year, when they would...

Russia’s jailed tycoon, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, was attacked by another convict, Khodorkovsky’s lawyer announced. A young prisoner with whom the former oligarch and ex-CEO of YUKOS used to share dietary, plank bed and even a place in the lockup, tried to cut off Khodorkovsy’s nose by using a sharp spoon. The lawyers say the convict warmed his way in Khodorkovsky’s confidence to kill him. As to the Federal Prison Service, they don’t doubt it was just an ordinary brawl of two prisoners. The statement of Mikhail Khodorkovsky's lawyer, Yury Schmidt, that his client was attacked early April 14, had a penetrating...

Yukos founder 'on hunger strike' From CNN Producer Max Tkachenko Tuesday, August 23, 2005; Posted: 2:40 p.m. EDT (18:40 GMT) MOSCOW, Russia -- Imprisoned Russian oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky has gone on a hunger strike to protest the treatment of his business partner, who is being held in solitary confinement, his lawyer Anton Drel told CNN. Khodorkovsky said he will stop the strike as soon as Platon Lebedev is released from solitary confinement. On May 31, a Russian court found Khodorkovsky and Lebedev guilty of tax evasion and other crimes and sentenced each to nine years in prison. The court...