Staunton, June 4 – Many analysts have looked at demographic trends and concluded that sometime toward the middle this century, Muslims will outnumber Russians on the territory of what is today the Russian Federation and thus be in a position to shift that country in the direction of an Islamic state. But now a Russian […]
Window on Eurasia
Russian Occupiers Use Longstanding Moscow Method to Undercount Crimean Tatars
Staunton, June 4 – Having driven out or denied reentry to many Crimean Tatars, the Russian occupation forces have now employed another longstanding Moscow method of “reducing” the number of Crimean Tatars and thus the role of that nation on the Ukrainian peninsula: manipulating the census. Yesterday, Aleksandr Surinov, head of the Russian Federal State […]
McDonald’s Big Macs Helping Not Hurting Russia, Moscow Journalist Says
Staunton, June 4 – There are few things more certain to provoke outrage among Russia’s “’kvas patriots’” than McDonald’s and its Big Macs, a Moscow journalist says; but such patriots should know the 500 McDonald’s restaurants now open in Russia provide more than 43,000 jobs directly and they purchases “almost 100 percent” of supplies from […]
No Referendum is Going to Resolve the Crimean Issue, Illarionov Says
Staunton, June 6 – Russian opposition leader Aleksey Navalny, like many others in Russia and abroad, says that referenda both past and future are the only basis for resolving the conflict over Crimea and that earlier votes in the Saarland provide a useful analogy on how to proceed. But Russian commentator Andrey Illarionov says that […]
Ethnic Intermarriage Declining in Non-Russian Republics of Russian Federation
Staunton, June 6 – Approximately one in four marriages in the Russian Federation involves people of different nationalities, but the number of ethnically mixed marriages varies widely among the country’s ethnic communities and between those living in their ethnic homelands and those living elsewhere. That pattern is not surprising given that the number of ethnically […]
Economic Crisis Accelerating Russian Flight from North Caucasus
Staunton, June 6 – The economic crisis is leading to the de-industrialization of parts of the North Caucasus and that in turn is contributing to the flight of ethnic Russians from the region, a departure that is fundamentally changing the ethnic balance in many republics in that region. That trend can be clearly seen in […]
Kremlin’s Success in Blaming Foreign ‘Enemies’ for Domestic Problems Why No Maidan Likely in Russia Soon, Kirillova Says
Staunton, June 6 – The Kremlin’s remarkable ability to blame foreign “enemies” for the problems is a major reason that no one should expect a Maidan in Russia anytime soon, Kseniya Kirillova says. And this is not so much a reflection of any “imperial consciousness” among Russians as the identification Russians make between the state […]
Kremlin’s Support for Refugees from Ukraine but not for Circassians from Syria Intensify Anti-Russian Feelings in North Caucasus
Staunton, June 5 – The contrast between the support Russian officials are giving to refugees from Ukraine and the complete absence of such support for Circassians fleeing from Syria is leading to the intensification of anti-Russian nationalism among the Circassians in the North Caucasus, according to Irina Babich. Babich, a senior scholar at the Moscow […]
Three Reasons Why Russia Should Be Stripped of 2018 World Cup
Staunton, June 5 – Even before the upcoming trials of former FIFA staffers confirm, as seems likely, that Moscow corruptly secured the hosting of the 2018 World Cup, a finding that would make it unthinkable to allow the competition to occur in Russia, there are already three compelling reasons why the international community should insist […]
Despite Ukraine, Obama Normalizing Moscow Ties to Boost Hillary Clinton’s Chances, Russian Senator Says
Staunton, June 3 – Yesterday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia and the United States, despite their continuing differences over Ukraine and other matters, “are returning to normal relations” and are doing so because they each have interests that can be advanced only by cooperation. Igor Morozov, a member of Russia’s Federation Council […]