Staunton, March 27 – The Western powers have long talked about “red lines” in Syria and elsewhere: actions or events that they say have suggested underscore their concern and indicate where they will act. Now, Russian President Vladimir Putin has done the same, and his “red lines” underscore that his moves in Ukraine are part […]
Staunton, March 24 – Russians must recognize that Vladimir Putin is “an aggressor and instigator of war,” that he is making them into “victims and participants in state crimes,” that he will eventually lose to the democratic world, and that he, they and their country will suffer and be held accountable just as the Germans […]
Staunton, March 22 — Since World War II, Western governments have often imposed sanctions to show their displeasure about this or that action, but such sanctions “never were effective” in returning the world to “the status quo ante.” Instead, they highlighted the lack of accord within the West and were even used by powers like […]
Staunton, March 21 – Yana Amelina, a well-connected Russian analyst, says that Moscow’s annexation of Crimea is “a precedent for South Ossetia and the entire post-Soviet space,” the most expansive Russian interpretation yet of what Putin intends and an indication that the breakaway republic in Georgia is now in the Kremlin’s crosshairs. In two articles […]
Staunton, March 20 – When Ramzan Kadyrov promised that Chechnya would help rebuild the economy of Crimea after its absorption into the Russian Federation this week, most observers concluded that he was just being his usual flamboyant self. But the truth is more complicated and potentially more disturbing. As journalist Andrey Pertsev points out on […]
Staunton, March 19 – In the past, “every country had its own map, each of which was more or less different,” a Georgian writer says, but with Marco Polo and Google, most came to accept a similar map of the world, one in which borders are clear and fixed. But Russians remain an exception. According […]
Staunton, March 17 – Russia today is in an undeclared but all too real war with Ukraine, a situation that many fear is the prelude to a long period of black hundreds-style reaction, Vladimir Pastukhov Says. But history suggests that this war may have another outcome, a Russian defeat in Ukraine and an ensuing revolution […]
Georgia is considering getting rid of its Soviet and Russian weapons, primarily its T-55 and T‑72 tanks, and its Mi-8 helicopters. According to the Ministry of Defense there are “several dozen” of such machines. In the current conditions it doesn’t seem feasible to have them repaired in Russia or to get spare parts from Russia. […]
It’s very unlikely that Ukraine will immediately become a European country as a result of the second “orange revolution” in its short post-Soviet history. But these events may have a significant impact on the situation in Russia. The Russian authorities’ passion for geopolitical games without thinking about the consequences has led to a situation where […]
Gennady Onishchenko, head of the Federal Consumer Protection Service, has been dismissed. Onishchenko was seen as the face of many Russian isolationist policies, such as the banning of “harmful” food products from many former Soviet countries which had expressed interests in joining the European Union instead of the Russian alternative, the Customs Union. The Moscow […]
