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Articles by Madina Tlostanova

1. “Khutin Pui, or What’s in Moscow? Election Campaign, a View from Below

   The author has been following the protest against Putin through Facebook and a number of internet portals and claims that "even through the distance that any media technology always creates, one could not help feeling deeply affected by the joyous festivities during the protest events – tens of thousands strong manifestations, marches, flash mobs, and car rallies". "The idea that a political change must precede an economic discussion prevails. In the absence of a social program, the carnival feature of the protest movement becomes the uniting principle pulling together people who otherwise would have never ever acted together.".

2. Russian presidential elections 2012

   Next Sunday, on March 4, presidential elections are held in Russia. The likely winner of the elections, Vladimir Putin, has been known already for five months but during these five months Russian political climate has changed significantly.

3. Referendum Whether to make Russian Latvia’s second official language or not

   On February 18, Latvia held a referendum on amendments to the Constitution (Satversme) that would make Russian a second official language. Discussions about this referendum have been very emotional. The sensitivity of the question resulted in the second-highest turnout of voters (71.12% ) for a referendum, just slightly lower than in the 2003 referendum on joining the European Union (71.49%). The proposal was rejected, so Russian did not become the second official language of Latvia and therefore an EU language.

4. A clear victory for Niinistö in the Finnish presidential elections

   Sauli Niinistö, a former finance minister and speaker of the parliament from the conservative National Coalition party received 62,7 per cent of the votes, a result which came as no surprise. Sauli Niinistö has throughout the entire presidential campaign been clear on how the role of the new president is to be played. Since the president has a direct mandate from the people he is entitled to engage also in other policy domains than those prescribed in the Finnish constitution.

5. The Finnish Presidential Election: An office in transition

   When the voters go to the polls for the second round of the Finnish presidential election on Sunday February 5, the ultimate winner will be destined for a significantly weakened presidential office. The role of the future president was of the main issues during the first round of electoral campaign and will be further debated during the upcoming week between the two finalists.

6. First round. The Finnish Presidential Elections

   The first round of the Finnish presidential elections last Sunday both fulfilled expectations and offered surprising results. Sauli Niinistö, the candidate of the National Coalition party, was as expected given the greatest number of votes. The competition about the second ticket to the presidential final turned out to be a much more exciting and a close race than expected.

7. The Baltic States – how many? A story of a historical coincidence

   Andres Kasekamp, A History of the Baltic States, London , Palgrave Macmillan 2010, xi + 251 pages, Andrejs Plakans, A Concise History of the Baltic States, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press 2011, xvi + 474 pages

8. War, masculinity, and memory. Recruited into a foreign army

   Ene Kõresaar (ed.)Soldiers of Memory World War II and its Aftermath in , Estonian Post-Soviet Life Stories, Amsterdam & New York Rodopi 2011, 441 pages

9. Love, money, and murder. A remarkable family history

   Mary-Kay Wilmers, The Eitingons, A Twentieth-Century Story, London: Faber & Faber, 2009, XI + 476 pages

10. On the desirability of industrial capitalism and autocracy. A Russian road to modernization

    Francis W. Wcislo, Tales of Imperial Russia, The Life and Times of Sergei Witte, 1849–1915, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, 314 pages

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