Ukraine Live Day 376: Tensions Rise Over Gas Dispute And Assassination of Russian Opposition Leader

February 28, 2015

Yesterday’s live coverage of the Ukraine conflict can be found here. An archive of our liveblogs can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see our latest podcast. Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs. For links to individual […]

If Moscow TV Said Putin was a Criminal, Russians Would Soon Agree, Panfilov Says

Staunton, February 28 – Government-controlled television is such a dominant player in Russian life that if the TV didn’t show Putin for two weeks and in the third said he is a criminal who had unleashed war, the Russian people would say “yes, we are against Putin,” according to Oleg Panfilov, a specialist in information […]

‘Instead of a Maidan, the Donbass Has Come to Moscow,’ Martynov Says

Staunton, February 28 – The murder of Boris Nemtsov within sight of the Kremlin means that “instead of a Maidan,” against which Vladimir Putin has organized, “the Donbass has come” to Russia, a development that means “the little house of cards” that the Kremlin leader had been building has come crashing down, Kirill Martynov says. […]

Russia Update: Opposition Mourns Leader Boris Nemtsov, Assassinated Near Kremlin

Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous issue is here. UPDATES BELOW Boris Nemtsov, opposition leader, has been shot dead two days before he was to lead a protest march against Russia’s war on Ukraine and […]

Russia, Ukraine and the Narcissism of Small Differences

Staunton, February 28 — Many people in Ukraine, Russia and elsewhere have wondered why two nations so closely linked by history and culture should have descended into such a vicious war, but they shouldn’t be surprised, Boris Grozovsky says, because peoples close to each other more likely to get involved in wars and to suffer […]

What Stopped Putin in Georgia in 2008 Won’t Stop Him in Ukraine, Georgian Diplomat Says

February 27, 2015

Staunton, February 27 – “Ukraine is where Georgia was six years ago, but Russia has been transformed into a second North Korea,” according to Sergi Kapanadze, a former Georgian diplomat and negotiator. As a result, what stopped Vladimir Putin in Georgia in 2008 won’t do so again in Ukraine, he says, but if Kyiv recognizes […]

Russia Update: Opposition Leader Nemtsov Shot Dead, 2 Days Before Leading Protest March

Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous issue is here. UPDATES BELOW Boris Nemtsov, opposition leader, has been shot dead two days before he was to lead a protest march against Russia’s war on Ukraine and […]

A Year of Russian Opposition Over the War in Ukraine

Catherine A. Fitzpatrick writes the latest in our series on the anniversary of the Maidan Revolution and the birth of a new nation, Ukraine. Read the others in the series here. A year ago, Russian opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov, former first deputy prime minister under Yeltsin, and Alexey Navalny,  an anti-corruption activist and blogger, were […]

Putin Will Likely Attack a NATO Country Next, Portnikov Says

Staunton, February 27 – Because Vladimir Putin seeks both recognition as the leader of a superpower and a new Yalta at which he and Western leaders will partition the world into spheres of influence and because he can only move toward that goal by new acts of aggression, the Kremlin leader is likely to attack […]