March 26, 2000
Putin is elected
Having been assigned as Yeltsin's successor only a couple of months ago, Putin wins his first election.
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Kursk submarine disaster
Russia after USSR
2000s
The 2000’s started with the Chechen wars and terrorist attacks all over the country.
At the same time, they say that there was no such time in Russian history with such an economical growth, especially for the middle class. Yet, the economy does not solve all problems.
The 90’s euro/american optimism has been gradually substituted with the new ideas – patriotism, allegiance to the glorious past, and the feeling of exceptionalism – we have our own, unique way.
2000
August 12, 2000
Kursk submarine disaster
“It sank”. Told by Putin, this short comment on the death of 118 sailors became quite memorable and demonstrative even back then.
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Walking Together
November 7, 2000
Walking Together
New Putin's pioneer organisation. Yet, not widespread.
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Stalin's anthem is back
April 3, 2001
The Seizure of NTV
The new managment converted an independent channel into pro-government one.
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United Russia is formed
December 1, 2001
United Russia is formed
Stability, after the years of chaos, becomes its main idea and goal.
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NATO-Russia council established
May 28, 2002
NATO-Russia council established
"Joint decisions and actions", military cooperation.
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Lourdes SIGNIT is closed
August 1, 2002
Lourdes SIGNIT is closed
The largest Russian military base in Cuba is closed.
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The Yukos affair
October 1, 2003
The Yukos affair
Khodorkovsky and Lebedev would end up in jail, the company would be nationalised.
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Putin is re-elected
March 14, 2004
Putin is re-elected
“The slide of the country into authoritarianism”, as commented by Grigory Yavlinsky.
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The Pritzker in St Petersburg
March 22, 2004
The Pritzker in St Petersburg
Prize is held in St Petersburg. Zaha Hadid is the laureat.
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Beslan school siege
September 1, 2004
Beslan school siege
333 people, 186 of them children died. The storming by Russian forces has been highly criticised afterwards.
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Nuclear supply deal with Iran
February 28, 2005
Nuclear supply deal with Iran
Befrending disputable regimes would soon become a habit.
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Putin promises not to change the Constitution
April 13, 2005
Putin promises not to change the Constitution
He seeks no way to go for the third presidential term. Indeed.
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Russia Today (RT) begins its broadcast
December 10, 2005
Russia Today (RT) begins its broadcast
Question more, they say. Usually, they question only those who are against Putin.
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Moscow Pride
May 25, 2006
Moscow Pride
Banned by the authorities to protect those who are offended by it.
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Assassination of Anna Politkovskaya
October 7, 2006
Assassination of Anna Politkovskaya
Well-recognised journalist, famous for her criticism of Russian actions in Chechnya, was shot dead.
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Litvinenko is poisoned
November 1, 2006
Litvinenko is poisoned
An ex FSB-officer, famous for criticising FSB and Putin, was killed.
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Munich speech of Putin
February 10, 2007
Munich speech of Putin
Putin turns hostile towards the US foriegn policy
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Dissenters' March
March 3, 2007
Dissenters' March
"Russia without Putin!", "Shame!", "Give the elections back!" was shouted in the streets. 113 people were detained.
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Rags to riches
April 21, 2007
Rags to riches
Forbes magazine reports that Russia now has 60 billionaires. Only 15 years ago there was none.
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Visa facilitation agreement with the EU
June 1, 2007
Visa facilitation agreement with the EU
It was belived to be the first step towards Schengen.
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Putin - the person of the year
December 19, 2007
Putin - the person of the year
Time magazine names Putin the person of the year. “He's not a good guy, but he's done extraordinary things”.
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Medvedev is elected
March 2, 2008
Medvedev is elected
They'd call these times the Medvedev's thaw. The only one gap in Putin's presidency.
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Bilan wins Eurovision
March 9, 2008
Bilan wins Eurovision
First time in history, Russia wins Eurovision with a song Believe.
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Prison for a message
August 1, 2008
Prison for a message
A woman was charged with High Treason for sending an SMS to Georgia describing the movements of the Russian troops.
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Russo-Gerogian war
The previous years of relative prosperity along with theoretical freedom kickstarted the growth of civil society.
The long-lasting 2008’s economical crisis brought a political one – a new-born middle-class started to disagree with the political decisions, taken with no consent.
The growing protest power provoked a reaction – every step a society took would end up in new restrictions. At the same time, the aggressive international course taken in 2008, justified the Crimean annexation, nurturing people’s imperial ambitions, has aggravated the already taken course to isolation. As life shows, the most horrible things happen when nobody can see it.
2010s
Dream of stability
Our stand on the Russian invasion to Ukraine
Russia started the war against Ukraine. This war is happening from 2014. It has only intensified on February 24th 2022. Milions of Ukrainians are suffering. The perpetrators of this must be brought to justice for their crimes.
Russian regime tries to silence its liberal voices. Russian people against the war exist - and the Russian regime tries its best to silence them. We want to prevent that and make their voices heard.
Connection is crucial. The Russian liberal initiatives are hard to read for European public at times. The legal, social and historical context of Russia is not always clear. We want to share information, build bridges and connect the liberal Russia with The West.
We believe in dialogue, not isolation. The oppositional powers in Russia will not be able to change anything without the support of the democratic world. We also believe that the dialogue should go both ways.
The choice is yours. We understand the anger for the Russian crimes. It is up to you whether you want to listen to the Russian people standing against this.