As Moscow grows in size and population, an ever-increasing quantity of garbage is being produced in the Russian capital, and this could be a problem for the government, says Associate Professor of Government Laura A. Henry, a scholar of contemporary Russian politics. Writing in The Conversation, she describes how the “resulting mountains of refuse emit noxious fumes and leach pollutants into nearby waters, endangering the residents of the region around Moscow.”

Protests against these dumps are growing, explains Henry, who researched the topic while in Russia on a recent sabbatical. “I believe these garbage protests reveal a crisis of basic governance that potentially poses a greater challenge to Putin’s government than pro-democracy activism,” she says. Read more.