Staunton, May 2 – Two months ago, Mariya Snegova, a Russian sociologist at Columbia University, suggested that Vladimir Putin was drawing on Mikhail Yuryev’s 2006 novel, The Third Empire, as a guide to his moves against Ukraine and as a source for a new imperial ideology. Snegova’s conclusions about the impact of Yuryev’s thinking on […]
Staunton, May 2 – Moscow is threatening its own country even more than it is threatening Ukraine by presenting those now in revolt against Kyiv as heroes, a portrayal that could lead to an upswing in extremist views and actions in the Russian Federation itself, according to Vladislav Inozemtsev. In an article in Vedomosti just […]
Staunton, May 2 – The persecution of Muslims in occupied Crimea and threats to Jews in those parts of eastern Ukraine where pro-Russia groups have seized power have received a great deal of attention in the West as evidence of what these Ukrainian areas face if Moscow is able to maintain its control there. But […]
After the horror of the fire in Odessa last night, the world is nervously waiting to see both how the Ukrainian government handles this tragedy, and whether the Kremlin will use this as the provocation they’ve been waiting for. Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see […]
Staunton, May 2 – The Crimean Tatars today are an inspiration and model for the non-Russians of the Russian Federation because they simultaneously defend the fundamental rights of their own nation and insist that they are part of the Ukrainian state, according to a Chuvash journal. “Looking at that energy with which the Crimean Tatars […]
At least two Ukrainian helicopters have been shot down over the eastern town of Slavyansk. Russian, or Russian-backed fighters there have used surface-to-air missiles in a serious escalation of force as the Ukrainian government mounts a concerted effort to retake the town. Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this […]
Staunton, May 1 – Vladimir Putin is taking care of his basic electorate, pensioners and government employees, at the expense of the private sector, Yevgeny Gontmakher says. And because Moscow increasingly lacks the funds to do so, the Kremlin leader will take ever more money from business, a shift popular in the near term but […]
Staunton, May 1 – Ukrainians have “enormous experience” with partisan war and will draw on it if Kyiv surrenders any more Ukrainian territory to Russia or if Moscow seizes any on its own, according to Yuriy Shukhevych, the leader of the Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian National Self Defense (UNO-UNSO) organization. Shukhevych and the UNO-UNSO are often […]
Staunton, May 1 – Today, for the first time since the end of the Soviet Union and reflecting what Russian commentators say is a patriotic “wave” and “nostalgia” for the USSR, a May Day parade is passing through Red Square — although Vladimir Putin is not atop the Lenin Mausoleum, as his Soviet predecessors were, […]
One day after Ukraine’s interim President said his government was “helpless” against Russian-backed militants who keep capturing government buildings, Russia warns Ukraine to withdraw its own troops from the border. Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see our latest podcast. Please help The Interpreter to continue […]
