Staunton, March 30 – Ever since the Russian invasion of Georgia in August 2008, South Ossetian leaders have wanted their republic to be annexed by the Russian Federation and combined with the larger North Ossetian Republic. But Moscow had been reluctant to take that step. On the one hand, the Kremlin clearly believed that any […]
Staunton, March 30 – Refat Chubarov, the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars, reaffirmed in comments to the BBC that the Crimean Tatar nation does not recognize Russia’s annexation of their homeland and that they are recommitting themselves to the establishment of a national-territorial autonomy in Crimea. In making these decisions, the Kurultay, […]
Staunton, March 30 – A serious consequence of a crisis like the ongoing one in Ukraine is that it absorbs so much media space that little or none is left for other events and developments, creating a situation that may benefit some and harm others, even when no overt falsification of the news is involved. […]
Staunton, March 28 – Russian society is experiencing euphoria over what Vladimir Putin proclaims and many of them feel that with the seizure of Crimea, Russia has regained “the status of a great power.” But Moscow commentators warn it is far easier to claim or even believe Russia is again a great power than it […]
Staunton, March 29 – Many have drawn parallels between what Vladimir Putin is doing and how the West is reacting with the Cold War or with the appeasement policies of Munich. But now that Putin has carried out the Crimean Anschluss, a far better analogy for today may be to “the phony war” between the […]
Staunton, March 28 – Over the past week, somewhat more than 20,000 residents of Crimea have asked for Russian Federation passports and Russian officials have handed out about 6500, Anatoly Fomenko, the deputy head of Russia’s Federal Migration Service, told Russia’s official ITAR-TASS news agency earlier this week. Fomenko said that Russian officials are trying […]
Staunton, March 28 – The United Nations General Assembly yesterday approved a resolution declaring the Moscow-organized “referendum” in Crimea illegal. The UN vote, of course, has no legal force, although it does highlight the emergence of new divisions in the international community, divisions that will certainly outlast the current crisis. One hundred countries, including the […]
Staunton, March 28 – Former Russian finance minister Alexei Kudrin has said and official Russian news agencies have reported that that Russia’s annexation of Crimea is going to have extremely deleterious effects on the Russian economy, including massive capital flight, and any hope of real economic growth this year. Kudrin said yesterday that Russia will […]
Staunton, March 28 – The Russian Federation currently has enough forces on the border of Ukraine to seize the southeastern portions of that country, but because it will face a partisan war after it defeats the out-manned Ukrainian military, the Russian forces currently available are insufficient to hold that region, according to Rashit Akhmetov. In […]
Staunton, March 27 – The Chukchis, a numerically small nation in the extreme far northeast of the Russian Federation on the Bering Straits, have long been the object of Russian humor. Some “Chukchi jokes,” as they are known, focus on the absurdities or problems of Soviet or Russian life, but others make fun of the […]
