Staunton, September 3 – Pskov Oblast, the region of the Russian Federation along that country’s borders with Estonia and Latvia, seldom attracts much attention from outsiders. It has been in the news lately because of the deaths of servicemen from there in Ukraine. But it merits attention as well because more than any other Russian […]
Staunton, September 3 – US President Barack Obama’s visit to Tallinn today comes almost exactly 75 years after the United States and the three Baltic countries formed one of the most remarkable alliances of the 20th century. (An Estonian translation of this article appeared in Tallinn’s Eesti Paevaleht.) That alliance, which for nearly 50 years took […]
Staunton, August 31 – The organizing committee of the Russian Anti-War Movement says that “Russian stands at the brink of catastrophe.” Following Putin’s introduction of regular Russian army units into Ukraine, an action that threatens losses equivalent to the war in Afghanistan, a major military conflict in Europe, and a fratricidal war. Arguing that Vladimir […]
Staunton, August 30 – Speaking in at the Seliger youth forum yesterday, Vladimir Putin said that today, as during World War I, there are people inside Russia who are seeking its defeat, a resuscitation of Adolf Hitler’s “stab in the back” theory about why his country lost that conflict and the basis for his attacks […]
Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. An archive of our liveblogs 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 a donation towards our costs. View Ukraine: April, 2014 in a larger map For […]
Staunton, August 30 – Iosif Zisels, the head of Vaad Ukrainy, the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine, says that neo-Nazi organizations from Russia” are taking an active role in the pro-Moscow forces in eastern Ukraine, a reflection of the fact that “Russia is infected with the ideas of revanchism, which is very […]
Staunton, August 28 – As a result of China’s crackdown in Xinjiang, Uyghurs are fleeing to Kazakhstan and even re-identifying as ethnic Kazakhs once they get there, according to an appeal by ethnic Kazakhs in China who complain that Astana has not proved equally welcoming to them. In an appeal to Kazakhstan Prime Minister Karim […]
Staunton, August 28 – Now that the Russian military has invaded Ukraine and has engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces, it is time to assess the ability of each country to mobilize its forces for war. One Moscow commentator has done that and concluded that “the system of mobilization of the Russian army is just […]
Staunton, August 28 – Vladimir Putin can continue to lie and deny that Russian forces have invaded Ukraine, but he can no longer conceal this from Russians, Ukrainians or the West. A reality that means there is no way out except admitting defeat or acknowledging that he has invaded, neither of which Putin will do, […]
Staunton, August 27 – After 20 years of assuming that Russia wanted to join the rest of the world and play by the rules (an assumption that was not without its own problems) many in the West now are governed by the opposite assumption: that Russia is capable of anything and therefore must be opposed, according […]
