Staunton, March 25 – Members of Protestant Christian denominations are playing a major role in the new Ukrainian government, from acting president Aleksandr Turchinov, who is a Baptist, on down, a development that these denominations are celebrating but that some Russians see a threat to what they call “the Russian world.” Ukraine sits astride cultural […]
Ukraine At War
Moscow Will Begin Military Operations in Ukraine by Mid-May or Not at All, Felgengauer Says
Staunton, March 25 – Many people are asking themselves what will be Moscow’s next steps in Ukraine, but military analysts are focusing in particular on the question of timing Pavel Felgengauer, a leading independent Moscow expert on military issues, says that Russia will begin military operations in Ukraine by the middle of May or won’t […]
Crimean Tatars a Major Challenge to Moscow on Peninsula, Makarkin Says
Staunton, March 25 – Not only have the Crimean Tatars become “the main problem for Russia” on the peninsula, Aleksey Makarkin says, because of their opposition to unification with Russia, but they represent an issue that won’t be resolved any time soon and thus are something that “will create ever more problems” in the future. […]
Lukashenka Takes Hard Line against Federalization of Ukraine
Staunton, March 25 – Alyaksandr Lukashenka, the Belarusian dictator and Vladimir Putin’s closest ally on the post-Soviet space, concedes that Crimea “de facto” is part of Russia but is taking a hard line against the Kremlin leader’s demands that Ukraine be federalized. Such a step, Lukashenka says, could be extremely dangerous. “Ukraine,” the Minsk leader […]
Kremlin’s Anti-Western Mythology Dangerously Self-Destructive, Milov Says
Staunton, March 25 – The Kremlin’s anti-Western mythology is now so widespread that many in Moscow and some in the West accept it as a given and fail to understand how it reflects a specific political program and how dangerous and self-destructive it is for those who are putting it about, according to Vladimir Milov. […]
Ukraine Liveblog Day 36: Right Sector Leader Found Dead
Russia and Ukraine have held their first meeting since this crisis began, and a leader for the Ukrainian ultra-nationalist movement “Right Sector” was killed. 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 providing this valuable information service by […]
Putin Falsified Crimean ‘Referendum’ Results, Illarionov Says
Staunton, March 24 – The majority of residents of Crimea almost certainly did not vote to join the Russian Federation, according to a detailed analysis of that vote by Andrey Illarionov, and Putin’s claimed victory was, as many have suspected, the result of the kind of massive falsification Putin has perpetrated in Russian elections in […]
Ukraine Liveblog Day 35: Russia’s ‘Sizeable’ And ‘Ready’ Forces on the Border
Ukraine has ordered its forces to retreat from Crimea, and NATO has warned that Russia has “sizeable” and “ready” forces at Ukraine’s borders. 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 providing this valuable information service by making […]
Kazan Tatars See No Future for Themselves in Putin’s Russia
Staunton, March 24 – Vladimir Putin’s transformation of Russia into a totalitarian, militarist and chauvinist state mean that the Kazan Tatars can see no future for themselves in that country as long as he is its president and is carrying out such policies, according to a declaration of the Millli Mejlis of the Kazan Tatar […]
Russians Must Oust Putin Rather than Suffer for His Imperial Ambitions, Felshtinsky Says
Staunton, March 24 – Russians must recognize that Vladimir Putin is “an aggressor and instigator of war,” that he is making them into “victims and participants in state crimes,” that he will eventually lose to the democratic world, and that he, they and their country will suffer and be held accountable just as the Germans […]