Staunton, April 16 — The number of people in Crimea identifying as ethnic Ukrainians has fallen by 232,000 between the 2001 census conducted by the Ukrainian government and the 2014 census conducted by the Russian occupation authorities, a decline that has reduced the percentage of ethnic Ukrainians on the peninsula from 24.0 to 15.1 percent. […]
Staunton, April 16 — For the last three months, the Russian population has been declining, and Moscow has coped with this by not publishing its usual monthly data collections or calling attention to the data in any way. But the regime is not capable of functioning without at least some officials having data, accurate or […]
Staunton, April 16 – Vladimir Putin says his decision to sell S-300 air defense missiles to Iran will stabilize the situation in the Middle East, but an analysis by Andrey Piontkovsky strongly suggests that it will have exactly the opposite effect and drive up the price of oil and that that outcome is why Putin […]
Staunton, April 9 – The Kavkazskaya Politika portal has launched a new series of articles that pose the question as to what “a perfect storm” might look like that would overthrow the existing political order; whether such a whirlwind is approaching; and how both regional elites and Moscow might be able to cope. The first […]
Staunton, April 15 – Many commentators have speculated that Moscow faces a potentially serious problem when those who have gone to fight in Ukraine return to Russia with their anger and their military skills, the Kremlin may face a more immediate danger: those returning are undercutting Russian propaganda about what is happening in Ukraine. Today, […]
Staunton, April 15 – In its continuing quest for ways to get Russians to stop drinking, the Russian health ministry has called for alcohol to be sold only in special stores rather than, as now, in many ordinary groceries and shops, an arrangement it says has “shown its effectiveness” in many countries but one that […]
Staunton, April 13 – As long as Russian aggression against Ukraine continues, patriotism is likely to trump concerns about domestic difficulties, according to Ella Libanova, a reflection of the fact that “the Maidan and Russian aggression has pushed Ukrainians toward more responsible attitudes toward both their country and their own fate.” In a commentary today, […]
Staunton, April 14 – While Russians have been focusing on Ukraine, the situation in the North Caucasus has deteriorated in two important ways, according to Maya Astvatsaturova. On the one hand, disputes of any kind are increasingly invested with ethnic meaning. And on the other, young people are better armed and ready to use guns […]
Staunton, April 14 – The more ethnically diverse a region in Russia is and the higher the level of tolerance for representatives of other cultures, the more positive are the consequences for the development of the society and the economy there, according to Aleksandr Tatarko, a scholar at the Moscow Laboratory for Socio-Cultural Research. At […]
Staunton, April 14 – Vladimir Putin’s press secretary says that no one from the Nenets Autonomous District in Arkhangelsk Region or the Khanty-Mansiisk and Yamalo-Nenets ADs in Tyumen Region has submitted any questions for the president’s upcoming direct line program, a remark some say means the Kremlin doesn’t “view these autonomies as independent subjects.” Dmitry […]
