Center for Citizen Initiatives

Bringing Russian and American citizens together in Peace since 1983.

What Is the Real Status of Democracy in Russia? An Interview with Professor Nicolai Petro

Natylie’s Place
October 14, 2019
Natylie Baldwin

Professor Nicolai Petro

A couple of weeks ago, I conducted an email interview with Nicolai N. Petro, professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island, on the state of democracy in today’s Russia, after having read his eye-opening 2018 journal article, “Are We Reading Russia Right?” His full biography is below the interview.

1)  In your 2018 article, “Are We Reading Russia Right?” you attempt to correct some misconceptions many in the west have about the state of democracy in Russia.  You point out, for example, that Russia has a much more diverse media that includes anti-Putin reportage and opinion.  Can you explain for readers a bit more about Russia’s media landscape and what percentage of the media that state TV actually consists of and what the demographics are who consume state TV vs. other types of media?

[Continue Reading]

Russia Redux: A US Army Colonel in Russia’s Far East

By Michael Metz

Ann Wright, retired US Army colonel, retired US diplomat, and all-round extraordinary person, accompanied us on our CCI trip. Ann was one of only three State Department officials to resign in protest over the US invasion of Iraq. She was also a member of the 2010 Gaza flotilla, the group of small boats that attempted to break the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip, in which nine protesters were killed by Israeli forces. I found her an inspiring individual.

[Continue Reading]

Ambassador John Huntsman Speaks Out!

Dear  CCI Friends,

America’s Ambassador to Russia is leaving his post. His outgoing message questions America’s foreign policy toward Russia. This comes as a spate of American and European VIP’s have begun speaking out about the U.S.’s demonization of Putin and Russia, and our refusal to use diplomacy and negotiation. At the same time, the U.S. is resorting to sanctions that not only don’t work, but have made Russia more resilient and have taken a toll on our European allies (and their relationships with us). This has strained the relationship between the U.S. and the EU. Thankfully Ambassador Huntsman wasted no time letting his points of view be known.

[Continue Reading]

Unasked Questions about US-Ukrainian Relations

CCI Friends,

Another article we need to attend to. The odds are heating up! We need to ask ourselves … are we planning to vote just to get Trump out of office? Will that backfire on us?

Sharon (signature)

Sharon Tennison
Center for Citizen Initiatives

The Nation

Unasked Questions about US-Ukrainian Relations

[Continue Reading]

Russia Is Not Our Enemy

Dear CCI Followers,

We concluded CCI’s 17-day trip to 21 Russian cities in September. We examined Russia’s current peoples and attitudes, particularly those Russians living outside of Moscow and St.Petersburg. We operated as Citizen Diplomats in each of these Russian cities we visited, since official diplomacy between the U.S. and Russia is now non-existent.

In the beginning, some of our travelers’ attitudes ranged from skeptical of Russia and Putin. Others traveled to judge for themselves what is going on with Russia and Putin. Lastly, there were travelers who considered themselves fairly positive about Russia (but with no validation to speak of).

Delegates were both Democrats and Republicans. There were more males than females in the delegation. The age range was 18 to 83 years (myself). For the most part we remained fairly neutral and supportive of each other. By the trip’s end, we all had a more educated view on where Russia is today … as our CCI videos will testify.

[Continue Reading]

Contact CCI

Contact Us

Join Our Email List

Subscribe