Kirill Medvedev

In the spring of 2011, a group of oil workers in Western Kazakhstan went on strike. They were working in one of the richest countries in the former Soviet Union, in dangerous conditions, in a hugely profitable industry, and yet they were being paid less than £450 a month. They wanted a raise and stayed on strike for seven months. That December, KazMunaiGaz, the state-owned oil company...

During the last Duma elections in December 2007 I was an election observer on behalf of the Communists. In the days before the voting I went to the homes of old people not strong enough to make the trip to the polling station. Some of them would tell me their life stories, and why they were voting for United Russia or the Communists (KPRF); others would ask for advice on who to vote for,...