Tag: Ukraine

The Ministry of Internal Affairs Follows the Course of Milosevic

December 27, 2013

Valentyn Nalyvaychenko is a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and former ambassador to Belarus, and is currently a member of parliament under the UDAR party, led by the boxer-turned-political-heavyweight Vitali Klitschko. — Ed. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, “that gave the criminal order to use force and torture against innocent people, follows the course […]

Yanukovych’s Bankruptcy: Why Ukraine is Waiting for a Change of Power

December 19, 2013

This article in Forbes Russia predates yesterday’s surprising news that Ukrainian President Yanukovych has signed a $15 billion deal with Russia that has Russia buying Ukrainian government bonds and has Russia slashing the cost of natural gas from $400 per 1,000 to $268.5 per 1,000 cubic meters. As the BBC notes, this will not be […]

Russian MPs React to Ukraine: “This is a Matter of Our Survival”

December 12, 2013

All the factions of the State Duma endorsed the statement on the situation in Ukraine. In this statement the legislators express dissatisfaction with the actions of the opposition, including riots and destruction of monuments, as well as with meddling by western politicians in Ukraine’s affairs. In its statement the State Duma warns that “unauthorized rallies, […]

Interpreter Podcast: Ukraine, Russian State Media, and Putinology

December 11, 2013

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. […]

If Ukraine Disintegrates Will it Be a Divorce or an Explosion?

December 10, 2013

Dan Kaszeta is a chemical weapons expert, but he has also spent many years of his life studying Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Bloc. He raises many good points about the deep internal divisions within Ukrainian society. As Ukraine is now in the midst of its second period of major popular unrest in less […]

Russia Can Cross Off the Rest of its Integration Projects

December 9, 2013

It’s very unlikely that Ukraine will immediately become a European country as a result of the second “orange revolution” in its short post-Soviet history. But these events may have a significant impact on the situation in Russia. The Russian authorities’ passion for geopolitical games without thinking about the consequences has led to a situation where […]

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 […]

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. […]

Kiev Takes a Timeout

November 25, 2013

Russia has arguably won its trade war with Ukraine, at least for now. After months of punitive measures because of Kiev’s desire to choose joining the European Union over the neo=Soviet Customs Union, last week the Ukraine suspended its move to join the EU. The move has been highly unpopular in the Ukraine, and protesters have taken […]