Spotlight

Interpreter Podcast: Putin, Obama, and the Balance of Power

Every Wednesday, The Interpreter’s managing editor James Miller will be speaking with Dr. Matt Sienkiewicz, a professor at Boston College, about the major headlines of the week. If you have questions you’d like Matt to address in future episodes, feel free to tweet to him: @mediastudied. If you have feedback on the content feel free to tweet to James: @MillerMENA. […]

Putin’s ‘Pogroms’ And a Fragile Russian Victory in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin has had a very good year, and one of his crowning achievements is that he appears to have successfully bullied Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych into halting Ukraine’s march towards the European Union. Russia closed the border to Ukraine’s products, backing up traffic for miles (possibly costing Ukraine billions). Russia froze entire industries: banned cheese; stopped […]

The Bolotnaya Case: Half a Year Later

December 3, 2013

In the case of the riots on Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012, the discovery of evidence stage hasn’t been completed yet: only 40 out of 453 declared witnesses have been questioned. However, according to the Bolotnaya prisoners’ attorneys, “the court began to ‘push’ the participants in the trial ‘to make sure everything is completed […]

Putin and the Pope: The Meeting Was Brief…

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis. The Russian media saw the event as a public relations victory, and played up the fact that the Pope would meet Putin for an entire hour. The meeting was shorter than expected, and mainly because Putin was caught up in […]

Between Maidan and Bolotnaya

December 2, 2013

This editorial appeared in the generally pro-Kremlin Gazeta.Ru. Its author argues that Russia must now incorporate Ukraine into the Russia fold, because the riots in the streets there are a threat to Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych, but also to Putin, as the longer they go on the further the Ukrainian populace will be from Russia. […]

Gay Slavs Are Better Than Gay Teutons?

Yelena Mizulina, chair of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Childrens’ Affairs, is the infamous Russia politician who co-authored the “homosexual propaganda” law that banned advocating for gay rights. She is a member of the Just Russia party who has also been elected to parliament from the Communist Party, Yabloko, and Union of Right […]

A Constitution of Orthodoxy

Yelena Mizulina, chair of the State Duma Committee on Family, Women and Childrens’ Affairs, is the infamous Russia politician who co-authored the “homosexual propaganda” law that banned advocating for gay rights. She is a member of the Just Russia party who has also been elected to parliament from the Communist Party, Yabloko, and Union of Right […]

Putin: The Godfather of the World

November 27, 2013

This analysis appeared in Ekho Moskvy, traditionally a more liberal outlet that often criticizes Putin. Though long, it is a fascinating analysis of the dynamic between Putin, Obama, and Assad, and argues that Putin, like “The Godfather,” manipulated the situation in order to come out on top. – Ed. “I read in his face a […]

Russia is the Winner, Saudi Arabia and Israel the Losers

ITAR-TASS is the Russian state owned media giant, and El Murid is a pro-Kremlin analyst, and this editorial on the Iranian nuclear deal should be read as such. After several somewhat complex paragraphs about the breakdown of the technical aspects of the deal, Murid gets to his real point — America’s allies are weakened by […]