It seems like those in power are starting to get very worried, and therefore have gone over onto the counterattack. All across the country, they are herding people to pro-Putin rallies, handing out stenciled posters, then declaring what huge support he has.

The first installment in History Editor Tamara Eidelman's Election Journal, which she is writing for us in the buildup to the March 4 presidential election.

Is Putin in decline? Were the elections rigged? And what are they tweeting about Vladimir?

"The crowds gathered from three different directions.  Every route to the square was controlled by police and troops.  I had never seen such numbers of armed forces before; it was like a movie about civil war." Victor is a 21-year-old student in Moscow. In this guest post, he gives us a participant's account of the December 10 demonstration.

Quite often, Russian reality is best illuminated with a joke. 

A couple of journalists are quizzing a candidate: “Why do you want to get elected?”

“Just look what is going on in the corridors of power: officials are awash in debauchery, theft, corruption!”

Where we visit the annual summer Seliger Youth Camp - where the Powers That Be cultivate young activists.

It was announced as a major press conference, and the rumor was that Medvedev would announce his reelection campaign. Not.

What exactly is a Russian liberal? Has this species ever been seen in the wild (by which I mean the Kremlin)? In her spot-on analysis of Russia's ruling tandem in today's Washington Post, Liliya Shevtsova highlights this question brilliantly...

In less than a year, Russia will go to the polls to vote for president, and the winner – for the first time – will be awarded with a six-year term. 

In the spirit of making the Olympic Games in Sochi a truly national event to unite the Russian people, the Sochi organizers last year launched a contest where artists could submit entries to be chosen as the official Olympic mascot.

The beating of journalist Oleg Kashin in November has led many to once again focus on the state of Russian journalism. Guest columnist Alexey Kovalev considers another side of the issue.

The sudden dismissal of longtime Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov marks a break from the quiet politics of the Putin Vertical of Power...