Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has lost much of his power base following the bloodiest day in a 72-hour period in Ukraine. He has now announced early elections, though without specifying when they might be held. Meanwhile, Russia has threatened military action in Crimea to protect ethnic Russians and a Russian military base there. Yesterday’s liveblog […]
Spotlight
Ukraine Liveblog: Day 3 — the Crisis Explodes
The tenuous “truce” brokered yesterday between the government of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukoyvch and the Euromaidan opposition appears to be fallen apart already. Paramilitary titushki thugs still roams the streets armed with guns, snipers have again been spotted, dozens of activists have been reported killed, and scores injured protesters are being treated in makeshift field […]
What Is Happening In Ukraine? Interpreter Podcast – February 19 2014
On Tuesday 25 people were killed as Ukrainian riot police stormed a camp of protesters in Kiev’s central square? What’s going on? Why are Ukrainians protesting? Why is the government resisting? And what does all this have to do with Russia and the United States? Each week, The Interpreter’s managing editor James Miller is joined by Boston College Professor Dr. […]
What Happened Overnight in Kiev and Throughout Ukraine
The following is a translation of an article on Slon, summarizing yesterday’s events across Ukraine. For more details see The Interpreter’s liveblog, which has extensive pictures, videos, and reports. Also see today’s liveblog for the latest news. — Ed. Barricades on the side of Institutskaya Street and Evropeyskaya Square were taken by Berkut, the square […]
Ukraine Liveblog: Day 2 of The Battle For Maidan
The battle that has raged in the Ukrainian city of Kiev has entered its second day. On Tuesday, at least 25 were killed and perhaps hundreds wounded. Wednesday is already starting with bloodshed. If you’re just tuning in to Ukraine, our podcast covers the basic questions – what is happening, why are people protesting, and […]
Oksana Forostyna: “Kiev hasn’t faced such violence since the Second World War.”
Two weeks ago, The Interpreter‘s editor-in-chief Michael Weiss interviewed Oksana Forostyna, executive editor for Krytyka Journal (think Ukraine’s London Review of Books). An outspoken intellectual and pro-Euromaidan activist, she talked about what the protestors in Kiev, now facing the bloodiest day of a three-month-long uprising (for more on this, see our liveblog), really want and what […]
Ukraine Liveblog: Intense Violence in Kiev
Protesters and police have clashed in Kiev today. At least 22 people have died so far. There are reports of snipers, teargas, stun grenades, rock throwing, and hand-to-hand combat. As tens of thousands of protesters tried to march on parliament, they were stopped by police who then tried to disperse crowds across the city. Titushki, […]
Sochi Liveblog: Pussy Riot Arrests
Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot have been detained in Sochi while preparing for a demonstration. They have been detained as suspects for a “theft” in their hotel. The two were planning to perform a song called Putin Will Teach You To Love Your Motherland but were arrested “with force” along with several other […]
Russia Opposition Leader Alexei Navalny Banned From Going to Sochi
On January 31, 2014, Alexei Navalny published a petition to Russian authorities he had made asking for permission to travel to Sochi to conduct research for his website and his blog. He described the extensive evidence of corruption he had found in Olympic construction projects (in a project translated by The Interpreter) and asked for permission […]
Putin Blames Circassian Protests on the West Amid Arrests
Speaking at a meeting with participants of the public council to prepare for the Sochi Olympics earlier in the week, President Vladimir Putin called “the Circassian factor” an “atavism of the theory of deterrence,” and an “instrument of the cold war.” “Back during the ‘cold war,’ the ‘deterrence theory’ was born, aimed at deterring the […]