Belarusian Experience Shows Ukraine Must Have Only One State Language, Kyiv Expert Says 2016-01-09 04:20:08 Staunton, VA, January 8, 2016 — The experience of Belarus shows that any country bordering Russia that agrees to make Russian a second state language puts its own language in danger and its population at risk of russification, according to Laris Masenko, […]
Kadyrov’s Public Shaming of His Opponents Beginning to Backfire, Memorial Says 2016-01-10 02:13:39 Staunton, VA, January 7, 2016 — Chechen head Ramzan Kadyrov has already attracted attention for his calls to hold the relatives of those who protest against his regime criminally responsible for the actions of their family members. But he has also sought to exploit […]
Only Three Groups of Russian Regions Likely to Do Relatively Well in 2016, Zubarevich Says 2016-01-05 20:09:37 Staunton, VA, January 5, 2016 — The absence of property rights, the excessive involvement of the state in the economy, ineffective investments and massive corruption would all have to be changed for the economies of Russia’s regions and […]
Putin and the Evolving Politics of Prepositions about Ukraine 2016-01-04 21:58:36 Staunton, VA, January 4, 2016 — The use of “v” versus the use of “na” as a preposition about being “in Ukraine” has become so politicized that many Russians view the use of the first as indicating that the speaker backs Ukraine against Moscow while others […]
Kadyrov Threatens to Punish Relatives of Chechens Who Took Part in Protest Abroad 2016-01-04 16:59:32 Staunton, VA – January 3, 2016 — Chechnya head Ramzan Kadyrov, who earlier announced he would punish and otherwise put pressure on relatives of those who engage in violence, has now extended that idea to relatives of Chechens living abroad who protest […]
Moscow Struggling to Coordinate Counter-Terrorist Effort in North Caucasus 2016-01-02 21:09:16 Staunton, VA, January 2, 2016 — Moscow is finding it increasingly difficult to coordinate the various agencies involved in its counter-terrorist effort in the North Caucasus, and its shortcomings in that regard are “being paid for by the blood” of local residents, according to Rasul […]
A Baker’s Dozen of Neglected Russian Stories – No. 17 2016-01-02 20:24:57 Staunton, VA, January 1, 2016 — The flood of news stories from a country as large, diverse and strange as the Russian Federation often appears to be is far too large for anyone to keep up with. But there needs to be a way […]
Apocalypse Soon? What Will Happen to Russia if Oil Falls Below Ten US Dollars a Barrel 2015-12-31 03:27:41 Staunton, VA, December 30, 2015 — The dependence of the Kremlin on the price of oil has long been obvious. A year ago, some wags suggested that if oil prices fell to the level they are now, Vladimir Putin […]
Staunton, December 25 — Following an international campaign, the Russian courts have released from prison camp Yevgeny Vitishko who was serving a three-year sentence for his exposure of official violations of the Russian environmental law in the run-up to the Sochi Olympics in 2014. Not surprisingly and despite both the outrageousness of the charges against […]
Staunton, December 25 — Vladimir Putin rose to power with a promise to suppress Chechnya’s drive for independence, but his actions in recent years, including his new decision to hand over to Grozny the oil refinery there have put that North Caucasus republic on “the final stage” toward the establishment of an independent country, according […]
