Analysis

Post-Soviet Space Entering New Era of Potentially Explosive Border Changes

February 25, 2015

Staunton, February 25 — When the USSR disintegrated in 1991, the United States and other Western countries and with the support of the leaderships of the former Soviet republics, including the Russian Federation, insisted that the administrative borders of the union republics should become without change the international borders of the new states. The West […]

War in Ukraine ‘Continuation of Decay of USSR,’ Sukhov Says

February 24, 2015

Staunton, February 24 — The war in Ukraine must be seen as a direct “continuation” of the decay and disintegration of the Soviet Union and the failure of Russia and many other of the countries which emerged from it to develop the kind of political institutions necessary for stability, according to Moscow commentator Ivan Sukhov. […]

War in Ukraine ‘Continuation of Decay of USSR,’ Sukhov Says

Staunton, February 24 – The war in Ukraine must be seen as a direct “continuation” of the decay and disintegration of the Soviet Union and the failure of Russia and many other of the countries which emerged from it to develop the kind of political institutions necessary for stability, according to Moscow commentator Ivan Sukhov. […]

Countering Russian Lies is Easy; Countering Russian Propaganda Much Harder, Kirillova Says

February 23, 2015

Staunton, February 23 — Russian lies have been a constant feature of the Moscow media scene since the start of Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea and intervention in other parts of Ukraine. Most of them have been so extreme that they call attention to themselves and are easy to show are false. But as Moscow’s […]

Archpriest’s Story about Moscow’s Last Days in 2043 Reflects Patriarchate’s Deepest Fears

Staunton, February 23 — In a short story written under the pseudonym Aron Shemaier, Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, a close advisor to Patriarch Kirill, describes the end of Moscow in 2043 when “the Moscow Confederation” is attacked by “fascists from ‘Free Russia,’ Islamists from the Caucasus, and rightwing figures from Ukraine” at one and the same […]

A Small Number of Russians in Latgale Can Create Big Problems for Riga, Grigoryevs Says

Staunton, February 23 – After the events in the Donbass, not all that many Russians or Russian speakers in Latgale would welcome any intervention by Moscow, Aleks Grigoryevs says, but a small fraction of 10 to 20 percent might be prepared to and, “if they were armed,” could create major problems for Latvia because the […]

Putin’s ‘Hybrid Ideology’ Internally Inconsistent and Won’t Last Long, Shtepa Says

Staunton, February 23 – Many of yesterday’s liberals are in the wake of the annexation of Crimea supporters of Vladimir Putin’s “’patriotic’ rhetoric” about reversing the collapse of the USSR, but most of those believe that they can do so without sacrificing any of the benefits they had received from that and the developments that […]

Russian Army Currently ‘Unprepared for Modern War,’ Felgengauer Says

February 22, 2015

Staunton, February 22 – Russian forces fought in the Donbass the way Soviet forces fought “50 years ago,” a reflection of their lack of contemporary equipment and training and that they are so “unprepared for modern war” that in a war with NATO, they would suffer much the same fate as the Zulus against the […]

Ukraine Must Organize to Fight and Win Cyberwar against Russia, Analyst Says

Staunton, February 22 – Since the Crimean Anschluss, Russia has attacked Ukraine not only on the ground but also in cyberspace, Vladimir Gorbulin says. And Ukraine must respond both by building up its capacity to defend itself in this sector and also develop the capacity to take the battle back into Russia as well. On […]

Anti-Maidan Actions Shouldn’t Make Putin Feel Secure, Vishnevsky Says

Staunton, February 22 — The Kremlin-organized Anti-Maidan demonstration in Moscow should not make Vladimir Putin feel secure because it was in reality an updated version of the Day of the Black Hundreds, Boris Vishnevsky says, groups organized by the tsarist regime to show support for the autocracy but that later did nothing to defend it. […]