Staunton, May 19 – The Russian occupation authorities are now alienating even those few Crimean Tatars who had been ready to cooperate, an indictment of Moscow and the Sevastopol regime that is especially telling because it comes from Yana Amelina, an analyst who has gained notoriety for her often impassioned defense of Russian imperialism. Moreover, […]
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Internet Ushering In a New Middle Ages in Russia and Elsewhere, Klishin Says
Staunton, May 18 – It is comforting for many in the West to assume that what is taking place in Russia is something unique and far from them, but in fact, Ilya Klishin, the editor of the TV Rain site argues, what is happening in Russia as the result of the Internet is happening elsewhere […]
The Top Five Russian Lies about Ukraine This Week – and Growing Challenges for Those Interested in the Truth
Staunton, May 18 –As he has done each week in recent times, Dmitry Bukovsky of Kyiv’s Delovaya Stolitsa provides a useful checklist of the top five “propaganda myths, fakes and stupidities of the Kremlin” about Ukraine. But another commentator, Yevgeny Kuzmenko, notes that Moscow’s activities are making it ever more difficult for Ukrainians to learn […]
On This May 18, We Must All Become Crimean Tatars
Staunton, May 18 – Adolf Hitler reportedly was confident he’d get away with killing the Jews because “no one talks about the Armenians anymore.” Tragically, Vladimir Putin now is even more confident he’ll get away with his “hyphenated” genocide of the Crimean Tatars because few are willing even to raise the issue of his Anschluss […]
Even if Putin is Tried in the Hague as He Should Be, Russia Will Remain a Threat to Europe, Grigoryants Says
Staunton, May 16 – Vladimir Putin should be arrested for war crimes and tried by an international tribunal in the Hague, Sergey Grigoryants says; but even if that happens, Russia will remain a threat to Europe until it undergoes fundamental changes – and such changes will happen only much later than they will in Ukraine. […]
Russian Government Confirms Degradation of Russian Health Care Since Putin Invaded Ukraine
Staunton, May 15 – When Russians complain that their health care has deteriorated in recent years, the defenders of Vladimir Putin east and west typically dismiss such cries of despair as “anecdotal.” But they won’t be able to adopt the same strategy with new data published by the Russian State Statistical Committee (Rosstat). Those data […]
Why Do Samara Activists Really Want to Ban Production of ‘The Producers’?
Staunton, May 15 – Russian activists in Samara are seeking to have the authorities there ban a production of Mel Brooks’ satire The Producers because it contains within it what they call the “fascist and homosexual play, Springtime for Hitler, which they insists “mocks” the great victory of the Russian people. Such a lack of […]
‘Geopolitical Conquests will Not Save National Pride’ of Russians, Moscow Scholars Say
Staunton, May 15 – The pride the people feel in their country consists of two elements: a cognitively processed one in which individuals assess the actual past and present of their nation and a normative one which is imposed from above by governments and others to support their policies, according to two Moscow scholars. The […]
Armenia Creates a Muslim Muftiate and Names Imam Trained in Iran to Head It
Staunton, May 14 – In a step that might seem absurd given the composition of Armenia’s population but that appears likely to send shockwaves through the Caucasus and perhaps further, the Assembly of Muslims of Armenia has created the position of mufti for the republic and named Arsen Safaryan, a graduate of an Iranian seminary […]
Andijan Massacre a Decade Later – A Tragedy that Continues to Metastasize
Staunton, May 13 – Ten years ago today, the Uzbek security services opened fire with automatic weapons on a demonstration in Andijan (Andizhan), killing more than 500, arresting more than 200 and driving another 500 into emigration, first into Kyrgyzstan and then into Europe, Australia and the United States. Tashkent continues to insist, and some […]