The Russia Program at GW

📝 We’ve published the full Digital Methods School tutorial series on YouTube.

The series covers AI and prompt engineering, text analysis, and methods for tracking narratives and bot networks on Telegram and VK.

It’s a great starting point for researchers working on Russia who want to incorporate digital methods into their work.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLl9oTlacstNU-AfZpLRHpiDPJ1LkC66zC

📍 New research. How does the Kremlin decide which cultural initiatives deserve support — and which values that support should promote?

➡️ https://therussiaprogram.org/presidential-foundations

Our study shows that while the Presidential Grants Foundation has largely continued to prioritize social-service projects, the creation of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives in 2021 changed the system in important ways: cultural funding expanded sharply, access widened to commercial organizations and individual entrepreneurs, and support became heavily concentrated among a relatively small circle of trusted recipients.

The result is not just more money for culture, but a more direct mechanism for promoting traditional values, patriotic narratives, and state-approved cultural content.

➡️ https://therussiaprogram.org/presidential-foundations

Presidential Foundations: How the Kremlin Channels Money into Patriotic Cultural and Educational Projects - The Russia Program at GWU The Russia Program at The George Washington University is a data-driven analytical center dedicated to advancing evidence-based research on Russia’s society, politics, and economy

Why does a failed revolt from 1825 still trouble the Kremlin?

Igor Torbakov traces how the Decembrists became a lasting symbol of moral resistance to autocracy—and why Putin’s regime now works to suppress that legacy while rehabilitating Nicholas I.

The Specter of the Decembrists: Why the Failed Revolt Still Haunts the Kremlin - The Russia Program at GWU The Russia Program at The George Washington University is a data-driven analytical center dedicated to advancing evidence-based research on Russia’s society, politics, and economy

📢 Join our digital methods training school! The next series of online trainings starts next week.

We provide hands-on training to turn digital traces into reliable empirical evidence—without requiring specialized technical skills.

The Digital Methods School — The Russia Program at GWU The Digital Methods School advances the study of Russia and other semi-closed societies by equipping scholars and experts with accessible digital research methods.

📍 How Returning Veterans Are Driving a Surge in Violent Crime in Russia

➡️ https://russiapost.info/society/war_comes_home

A new CEDAR study for The Russia Program finds that nearly 8,000 veterans of Russia’s war against Ukraine have been convicted of civilian crimes since 2022 — a growing share of them for violence.

🔹 Scale: ~8,000 convictions linked to war participants since 2022; about 7,000 were veterans who had already returned home.

🔹 Rising yearly totals: roughly 350 cases identified in 2022, 2,500 in 2023, and 4,700+ in 2024 (2025 figures are incomplete so far).

🔹 Violence & domestic abuse: 900+ veterans prosecuted for violent crimes; 423+ victims killed (including fatal traffic cases). The dataset includes 52 domestic-violence cases targeting partners, children, and other relatives.

🔹 Disproportionate severity: veterans are prosecuted for murder/attempted murder 2.5× more often than men overall, and 2× more often for assaults causing grievous bodily harm.

🔹 Repeat offenders & pardons: at least 2,139 convicted veterans had prior convictions; 656 were pardoned by presidential decree after being recruited from jail to fight.

🔹 Leniency in courts: about one-third of veterans receive more lenient sentences than comparable civilians, often getting fines or labor penalties instead of prison.

The report also stresses these are minimum estimates: not all cases reach court, not all verdicts are published, and data from occupied territories is largely unavailable.

Read full analysis: https://russiapost.info/society/war_comes_home

📍 New research. Trump’s Peacemaking Rhetoric: Hope, Polarization, and Disillusionment

➡️ https://therussiaprogram.org/trump_peacemaking

New research from The Russia Program shows that Donald Trump’s peacemaking rhetoric initially raised expectations of a swift end to the Russia–Ukraine war, but ultimately deepened polarization rather than advancing peace.

▪️ Early optimism was high: Before Trump took office, large majorities in both Russia and Ukraine believed peace depended on his intervention.

▪️ Expectations collapsed quickly when bold promises failed to produce tangible results.

▪️ Polarization increased: Russian public opinion shifted toward greater support for continuing the war, while Ukrainians became more committed to full territorial liberation and less open to compromise.

▪️ Trust in Trump as a mediator remained low, with many viewing him as biased or driven by U.S. interests.

▪️ Media framing mattered: Russian state media promoted selective visions of “peace,” reinforcing skepticism toward direct negotiations with Ukraine.

➡️ https://therussiaprogram.org/trump_peacemaking

How Trump’s Peacemaking Rhetoric Is Shaping Perceptions of the Peace Process in Russia and Ukraine Donald Trump’s peace rhetoric on the Russia–Ukraine war raised hopes for a quick settlement but ultimately fueled polarization and mistrust in both countries, as media narratives and public opinion hardened rather than moved toward compromise.

🚨 New research. Outsourcing Social Policy, Controlling Civil Society: Russia’s Presidential Grants Fund

➡️ https://therussiaprogram.org/russias_presidential_grants_fund/

Russia’s Presidential Grants Fund has become the main source of NGO financing since 2017. It fills real social-service gaps and provides rapid crisis support, but it also centralizes state control over civil society.

Most funding goes to a small group of established NGOs, while new or independent groups rarely break through. As foreign funding has been restricted, PGF now shapes which projects — and which narratives — are allowed to thrive, often aligning with government priorities.

The result: a civil society that exists, but largely on the state’s terms.

Outsourcing Social Policy, Controlling Civil Society: Russia’s Presidential Grants Fund Sergei Tikhonov and Ksenia Zinder

Heading to the 2025 ASEEES Convention in DC?

Join GW’s IERES for an evening reception celebrating our community of scholars & professionals! Cosponsored by ASEEES—come reconnect, meet new colleagues, and chat with IERES faculty, staff, and visiting scholars. Snacks, desserts & drinks (cash bar) provided.

Join us for Echoes of Tomorrow: Russia’s War, Society, and Ideas of Change on Nov 18 at George Washington University (1957 E St NW, Washington DC) — a deep dive into how war, society and vision converge in Russia today.

With round-table and panel sessions exploring ideas of the future, conservatism, war demography, economic shifts & anti-war petitions.

Free and open to all.

Register here: https://calendar.gwu.edu/event/echoes-of-tomorrow-russias-war-society-and-ideas-of-change

Attending the 2025 Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies (ASEEES) Annual Convention in Washington, DC?

Join the The Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University for an evening reception celebrating our vibrant community of scholars and professionals. Cosponsored by ASEEES, this event is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with colleagues, make new connections, and engage with IERES faculty, staff, visiting scholars, alumni, and colleagues worldwide.

And don’t forget to stop by the IERES booth ( #213) in the Exhibition Hall! Meet our faculty and staff, explore our latest research, publications, and events, and learn about opportunities for scholars and students to study and collaborate with us at IERES.

Register here: https://shorturl.at/IGwt9

Don’t miss RIMA Fest 2025 — a global gathering on digital memory, truth & resistance.

📅 Nov 8-9 | 🌍 Hybrid: Berlin · NYC · Online

Details 👉

RIMA Fest 2025