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This week openDemocracy publishes a major new essay on Russia by Russian historian Yury Afanasiev Read below, online or print as a pdf

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Just published The End of Russia?, Yury Afanasiev Bulgaria and Russia: cold marriage, Irina Novakova Orthodoxy: symbols for the new Russia, Iannis Carras The “Arab system” after Gaza , Khaled Hroub Iran and the Gaza war, Sadegh Zibakalam Turkey-Israel relations after Gaza, Mustafa Kibaroglu The missing element of Obama's economic plan, Steven Hill Poland's politics of history , Krzysztof Bobinski China's abyss of discontent, Wei Jingsheng Bolivia redefines itself, John Crabtree

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The End of Russia?, Yury Afanasiev Part One Are we not slaves? I Russia's rulers behave like a government of occupation. So why do the people support them uncritically? II Understanding the terrible enthusiasm of the masses III The intelligentsia: as unfree today as in the past. IV Imperial expansion versus freedom: an elite long ago co-opted V Today's intelligentsia: the chorus of support VI The wheel of history comes full circle: returning to "the Russian path" ... more » Bulgaria and Russia: cold marriage, Irina Novakova The 2009 round of the annual January spat between Ukraine and Russia left Bulgaria with barren gas pipelines and pushed it to the verge of humanitarian crisis and economic collapse. Domestic and industrial consumers watched in dismay as Moscow and Kiev haggled over gas prices and exchanged accusations, while the European Union frantically tried to broker a solution. It seemed impossible to secure alternative supplies. Public opinion blamed the government for lacking emergency plans. To add to... more » Orthodoxy: symbols for the new Russia, Iannis Carras Patriarch Aleksii died on 5 December 2008. His successor, the new head of the Russian Orthodox Church, will be elected by the Church Council.  Both these events have provoked considerable discussion in the Russian press and over the internet. In their new book John and Carol Garrard give an overview of the role the Russian Church has played during the transition from Communist rule and ask the question, whither now?  The 1991 coup that aimed to salvage the Soviet Union ended up... more » The “Arab system” after Gaza , Khaled Hroub George W Bush in an inimitable way succeeded in his aim of creating a "new middle east" - albeit one that is almost opposite to the outcome he had in mind. The ideologically-driven agenda that the former United States president and his neo-conservative advisors pursued in the aftermath of 9/11 was ambitious: waging a "war on terror", crushing the Saddam Hussein regime, talking loosely of democracy while shoring up friendships with authoritarian allies - and abandoning more... more » Iran and the Gaza war, Sadegh Zibakalam The reaction to the three-week war in Gaza among Iran's rulers and state-run media was predictable. They reported graphically the extent of Palestinian suffering as a result of heavy Israeli bombardment; and they did everything they could to capitalise on this suffering as a way of demonstrating -  to Arabs and indeed the world at large as well as Iranians - how right their regional political assessments had been all along. But the fury they unleashed at the leading Arab regimes,... more » Turkey-Israel relations after Gaza, Mustafa Kibaroglu A few days before the first Israeli air assault on Hamas strongholds in Gaza on 27 December 2008, a meeting in Ankara was held between Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Israeli counterpart Ehud Olmert. The visit appeared to focus on reviewing progress in the previously secret talks between Israel and Syria that had been ongoing for more than a year under Turkey's mediation (see Carsten Wieland, "The Syria-Israel talks: old themes, new setting", 27 May... more » The missing element of Obama's economic plan, Steven Hill Investing in physical infrastructure is not enough if an opportunity to build real "social infrastructure" in the country is squandered  Imagine a place where doctors still do house calls. Or where childcare is affordable, professional and widely available. Or where all new parents are paid to stay home and care for their newborns, and receive a monthly stipend to pay for diapers, food and other daily needs. Or imagine a place where a young person doesn't have to... more » Poland's politics of history , Krzysztof Bobinski A small crowd gathers at midnight on on 13 December 2008 outside a modest house in Warsaw. It is an annual event. The scenario outside the darkened house hardly changes from year to year - even down to the  attendees, who are divided into two groups. These chant slogans at each other, the larger (and younger) group scorning the house's occupant and the smaller (and older) one supporting. A line of police (mostly young) separates the rivals. Around one o'clock in the morning the... more » China's abyss of discontent, Wei Jingsheng The world is living through an economic crisis that will deepen in 2009. Some in the west respond in the manner of a drowning figure clutching at a reed: the Chinese government has a lot of money, they say, so let's appeal to them to save us from the crisis. In doing so, they fail to understand that the government in Beijing does not know how to save itself, let alone the rest of the world. Wei Jingsheng is a Chinese human-rights and democracy advocate. After his "Democracy... more » Bolivia redefines itself, John Crabtree The referendum in Bolivia on 25 January 2009 represents another key milestone on the lengthy path of devising and implementing a new constitution.  The opinion polls point to a victory for the "yes" camp, and thus a consolidation of the political project of the country's president, Evo Morales. But in the context of the deep political divisions that have marked the process of making a new constitution, Bolivia's government seeks more than an overall numerical triumph.... more »