Books & ideas

The Volga and Russian geopolitics

Laurent Touchart — 2025-04-22T06:00:00Z

The longest river in Europe bears the imprint of Soviet history. From dams to fishing by way of industrialization, it lies at the heart of the continental upheaval that is unfolding before us.

Russia's Power Diagonal

Yauheni Kryzhanouski — 2024-10-24T09:08:00Z

‘Prevent disorder' is the motto of Russian power, justifying all forms of repression and establishing a partly decentralized system of domination through fear at the hands of local mobs.

A History of the Thirteen in the USSR

Grégory Dufaud — 2023-04-27T07:00:00Z

The “New Thinking,” a complete recasting of Soviet foreign policy under Gorbachev, paradoxically precipitated the fall of the regime. A generation of reformers who cut their intellectual teeth in the 1950s were the source of the doctrine.

The Second World Power and its Social Complexity

Anna Shpakovskaya — 2022-10-19T08:00:00Z

Conducting free and long-term research on China and collaboration with Chinese researchers is crucial to understanding the second world power. German China scholar Thomas Heberer shares his insights into China's complex relationship with Russia, the repression of the Uyghurs, entrepreneurs and the social credit system.

“The Tragedy Has Never Left Us.” On the War in Ukraine

Florent Guénard — 2022-04-18T06:54:19Z

The invasion of Ukraine can seem to resurrect the images of the past: conquering armies, cities under siege, widespread destruction. The references to the Second World War abound, but they should not obscure the fact that this conflict, with all its complexity and tragedy, belongs firmly to the present.

From one war to another: Ukraine facing Russia

Florent Guénard & Thomas Vendryes — 2022-02-28T08:27:46Z

As Russia sets out to invade Ukraine, eight years after the Maidan Revolution and Russia's annexation of Crimea, Ukrainian economist Volodymyr Vakhitov looks back at the transformations Ukraine has undergone since 2014, and its relationship with Russia and Russians.

The Invisible Museum

Yaël Kreplak — 2020-04-16T07:00:00Z

Though primarily a visual experience, the museum nonetheless depends on a number of invisible tasks. V.A. Lépinay's book uses the Hermitage Museum as a field of investigation and reveals the scientific work done on the collections, their composition and their presentation to the public

The Militarisation of Russian Society

Clémentine Fauconnier — 2019-11-25T08:00:00Z

Russia has seen a huge increase in commemorations of the Soviet victory. Some of these parades are organized by civilians, while others are more official. But all of them reveal a rise in a nationalism that Putin would like to epitomise.

Critical Journalism in China

Émilie Frenkiel — 2019-09-23T07:00:00Z

Despite strict censorship and control, the Chinese party-state and journalists also sometimes interact in a collaborative manner. Constructive investigative reports serve as governance tools to better control local officials and project the image of a responsive government.

The Thorny Memory of the Russian Revolution

Korine Amacher — 2017-07-03T07:00:00Z

During the Soviet era, October 1917 was the central political and cultural reference. One hundred years later, Russian society is still deeply divided over its past. Will the centenary of the Revolution be the great moment of national reconciliation the Russian power wants it to be?