Staunton, April 18 – What the US, the EU and Ukraine itself agreed to in Geneva is “worse than Munich” because Kyiv joined in giving international sanction to actions of the Russian aggressor and opening the way for the transformation of the internal arrangements of Ukraine regardless of what Ukrainians want, according to Andrey Illarionov […]
Ukraine At War
Ukraine Liveblog Day 60: The Day After the Geneva Agreement
Yesterday a key group of world powers appeared to find middle ground on Ukraine at the conference to defuse the crisis in Geneva. Actions, however, speak louder than words. Will today see Ukraine move closer to or further away from ending this crisis? Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of […]
Russian Anti-Americanism Today Very Different and Much Worse than Soviet-Era Variant, Mirsky Says
Staunton, April 17 – Some see the rising tide of anti-Americanism and anti-Western attitudes in Russia as a recrudescence of the Cold War, but in fact, the attitudes that the Putin regime is promoting now are very different and much worse than those which his Soviet predecessors sponsored, according to Georgy Mirsky. In Soviet times, […]
Putin Family Values
Staunton, April 17 – Given the Kremlin’s promotion of traditional family values and Russian interest in all things Putin, a distant relative of the Kremlin leader has put out a second edition of his genealogy of the family, the presentation of which in Moscow this week speaks volumes about Vladimir Putin’s real family values. Reporting […]
Immigrants Will Form Half of Russian Federation’s Population in 2050, Experts Say
Staunton, April 17 – If current trends continue, half of the population of the Russian Federation in its current borders will consist of immigrants, according to a new Moscow study, a conclusion clearly intended to feed anti-immigrant feelings and, more speculatively, designed to promote a discussion of what can and should be done, including the […]
Russian Separatists in Donetsk Reportedly Order Jews to Register or Face Expulsion
See additional coverage of this story on The Interpreter’s April 16th liveblog. The Russian outlet TV Rain has published a denial from the Donestk separatist leader that the flyer is connected with his organization. We will continue to follow this story on our liveblog where new evidence has been analyzed. Staunton, April 17 – Ukraine’s […]
Ukraine Liveblog Day 59: Gun Battles in Mariupol
Last night pro-Russian gunmen tried to take over a military base in Mariupol, but they were met with a hail of gunfire. At least 3 were killed in the attack, and today there are more reports of violence in that city. Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing […]
Debate Opens on Allowing Immigrants to Serve in Russian Military
Staunton, April 16 – Declining numbers of Russian men of draft age and Vladimir Putin’s increasingly aggressive moves in Ukraine have prompted suggestions that Moscow should allow immigrants to serve in the Russian military and be given a fast track to Russian citizenship if they do. But that idea has provoked a sharp reaction both […]
How To Avoid Sanctions Like Sergei Naryshkin
Two days ago, the discussion on social networks was about how people on the EU sanctions list could nevertheless travel to France and even give press conferences in Paris. The fourth most powerful official in Russia, the Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Sergei Naryshkin, did just that. He found himself on the EU sanctions […]
Small Northern Nation Challenges Lukoil – and Local Officials Support the People
Staunton, April 16 – The Komi, one of the Russian Federation’s numerically small nations of the north, are demanding that that country’s oil giant, Lukoil, stop its destructive exploitation of oil reserves in the Izhemsk district of their republic – and, what may be even more significant, local officials are supporting the people rather than […]