JRL NEWSWATCH: “It’s no joke: how Russian comedians try to stay relevant in wartime” – Reuters

European Portion of Commonwealth of Independent States

“… Comigration [is] … a small collective of comedians … [who] have left Russia since Putin’s [2022] invasion of Ukraine … and now ply their trade in Georgia. The contrast in their material is striking [compared with comedians still back in Russia]. According to one …, Ilya Ovechkin, any reference to Putin in a joke boosts laughs by 70%. In […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Get out’: Influx of Russians to Georgia stokes old enmities” – CNN

File Photo of Tbilisi, Georgia and Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

“… [T]he arrival of more than 100,000 Russians in [Georgia] since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine … has left Georgians uncertain whether to welcome them as friends or shun them as foes. … Despite gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, a potential European future [for Georgia] is still struggling to be born. Georgia’s stance towards Russia […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Where Does NATO Enlargement End?” – Creators.com/ Patrick Buchanan

NATO Meeting File Photo

“… NATO … Article 5 war guarantees … oblige the United States to wage war against Russia to restore … [the] sovereignty and territorial integrity [of NATO allies] if [they are] attacked. … Why would we commit to risk war with a nuclear-armed Russia on behalf of nations no one has ever regarded as vital interests of the United States  […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: In Kazakhstan, Putin Again Seizes on Unrest to Try to Expand Influence” – New York Times

Map of CIS Central Asia and Environs

“But a series of revolts against a pro-Russian strongman could also plant the seeds of rebellion at home, analysts say.” “… The arrival in Kazakhstan of 2,500 troops from a Russian-led military alliance amid … violent protest was the fourth time in … two years … Moscow has flexed its muscle in neighboring states — Belarus, Armenia and Ukraine being […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “U.S., Georgia sign military training pact amid Russian threat on the Black Sea” – Defense News

File Photo of Tbilisi, Georgia and Environs, adapted from image at state.gov

“U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Georgian counterpart on Monday signed an agreement to extend U.S.-led military training …. ahead of [Austin’s] visits to other Black Sea allies Ukraine and Romania to deliver a message of ‘unwavering’ support for their sovereignty and territorial integrity in the face of Russian threats. Since Russia’s war with Georgia, it has had a […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Which Countries Are Open to Russians – and Vice Versa?” – Moscow Times

Truck at Russian Border Crossing

… Russia also closed its borders to most foreign citizens, with exceptions for diplomats, relatives of deceased people, high-demand workers and other categories […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Russian imperialism could bring down Putin” – The Hill/ Janusz Bugajski

File Photo of Vladimir Putin at Podium with United Russia Logo, Gesturing

“… Putin has based his domestic support on economic growth and restoring the ‘Russian World.’ With the Russian economy in a nosedive, the Kremlin looks increasingly likely to attack a former Soviet neighbor to revive its imperial credentials. … Russia invaded Georgia to divert public attention from the 2008 financial crisis, and … invaded Ukraine to help quash growing protests […]

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Awakening a new generation of activists in Eurasia; An emerging young, urban population has begun to challenge the lasting legacies of the Soviet era

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Opendemocracy.net – Erica Marat – September 5, 2019) Erica Marat, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University. She is the author of The Politics of Police Reform: Society against the State in Post-Soviet Countries (Oxford University Press, 2018). A new wave of anti-government mobilization has swept across the Eurasian countries that once […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Tensions Are Flaring Between Georgia and Russia-Backed South Ossetia. Here’s What’s Happened” – Moscow Times

Georgia Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – September 2, 2019) The international community has called for restraint as Georgia warned of a “serious confrontation” with the Russian-backed breakaway territory of South Ossetia last week. Only Moscow and a handful of other states have recognized the independence of South Ossetia after Russia and Georgia fought a five-day war over the region in August […]

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U.S. urges Russia to pull troops stationed in Abkhazia, S. Ossetia behind pre-2008 conflict line – embassy in Tbilisi

Georgia Map

TBILISI. Aug 8 (Interfax) – The United States urges Russia to implement the ceasefire agreement of August 12, 2008, and to pull its troops stationed in Abkhazia and South Ossetia to the line that existed before the August 2008 conflict, U.S. Charge d’Affaires in Georgia Elizabeth Rood told the press on Thursday in connection of the 11th anniversary of the […]

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RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “[Putin at] Meeting with Russian journalists” – KremlinRu

Yekaterinburg file photo

(Kremlin.ru – July 9, 2019) Following the II Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, Vladimir Putin met with Russian journalists and answered their questions. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon. Question: First question is about Georgia. May I? Vladimir Putin: We are at such a good international event on technology. Does it [Georgia] demonstrate any achievements in terms of applying […]

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JRL NEWSWATCH: “Georgians Set to Vote in Hotly Contested Presidential Runoff” – AP

Georgia Map

“Two of Georgia’s former foreign ministers are facing off against each other Wednesday in a tight runoff that will mark the last time Georgians elect their head of state by popular vote.  Georgia, a nation of nearly 4 million people in the volatile Caucasus region south of Russia, is transitioning to a parliamentary republic. Presidential powers have been substantially reduced […]

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When Does Vladimir Putin’s Russia Send In Troops?

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Russia Matters – russiamatters.org – Simon Saradzhyan – August 7, 2018) Simon Saradzhyan is the founding director of the Russia Matters Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. [Text with links and chart russiamatters.org/analysis/when-does-vladimir-putins-russia-send-troops] This month marks the tenth anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s first military intervention abroad, in Georgia. Since then there have been two […]

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NEWSLINK: Mikheil Saakashvili: “When Russia Invaded Georgia; It happened in 2008 and foretold a decade of Putin’s adventurism” – Wall Street Journal

Georgia Map

“Like many other heads of state, I had planned to attend the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. I canceled my trip after Russian-backed separatists began firing on Georgian positions in the breakaway territory of South Ossetia. … Long before its conventional assault on Georgia, Russia openly backed separatist militants, launched cyberattacks, and used disinformation to meddle in the internal affairs […]

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RUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “Dmitry Medvedev’s interview with Kommersant newspaper; 10 years after the Georgia-South Ossetia conflict” – Government.ru/Kommersant

Dmitri Medvedev file photo

(Government.ru/Kommersant – August 7, 2018) Question: Mr Medvedev, the August 2008 war seemed unavoidable even before it started. Did you have the same feeling? Dmitry Medvedev: No, it was not at all unavoidable. And I still think that there would not have been a war if not for the irresponsible, immoral and criminal actions of Saakashvili and his minions. Indeed, […]

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RUSSIALINK: “Russians Blame Tbilisi, Not Moscow for 2008 War, Poll Says” – Moscow Times

Georgia Map

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 6, 2018) On the 10th anniversary of the Russia-Georgia war, more Russians blame Georgia than leadership in Moscow for the conflict, according to an independent Levada Center poll published Monday. The war, which began over the breakaway region of South Ossetia on Aug. 8, 2008 and ended five days later, was Russia’s biggest combat […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Armenia: Why Has Vladimir Putin Not Intervened So Far and Will He?” – Russia Matters/Simon Saradzhyan

Armenia Map and Flag

“The resignation of Armenia’s Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan after more than a week of mass protests in Russia’s backyard begs the question: Why has Moscow not intervened …? … fist-pumping demonstrators bring to mind ‘color revolutions” in the post-Soviet neighborhood that the Kremlin seems to abhor, like the ones in Georgia and Ukraine. But even genuine color revolutions (which Armenia […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Is Russia Sponsoring Terrorism?” – New York Times/Senator Cory Gardner

American Flag and Partial View of U.S. Capitol Dome, adapted from image at aoc.gov

“… The State Department should consider adding [Russia] to its list of state sponsors of terrorism, alongside its close allies Iran and Syria. … Russia has invaded … Georgia and Ukraine … supports the murderous regime of Bashar al-Assad and our enemies in Afghanistan … is engaged in active information warfare against Western democracies, including meddling in the 2016 United […]

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NEWSWATCH VIDEO: “Putin’s Next Act” – Brookings/ Julia Ioffe, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Angela Stent, Strobe Talbott, Alina Polyakova

File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Brookings event – April 4, 2018) “… Putin’s third term as Russia’s president was defined by a return to aggressive foreign policy … military interventions in Ukraine and Syria, interference in elections in the United States and Europe … a crackdown on domestic dissent. … as Russia’s economic model and political system seem[] increasingly stagnant …. What might Putin’s fourth […]

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NEWSWATCH: “How Russia’s Economic Recession Benefits Moscow Politically in its ‘Near Abroad’ [Excerpt]” – PONARS Eurasia/Mariya Omelicheva

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Mariya Y. Omelicheva is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Kansas. “Over the short run, Russia’s acrimonious relations with the West are serving the Kremlin’s broader effort of heightening its influence in its ‘near abroad.’ In 2014, Russia was hit by a triple whammy of low oil prices, Western sanctions, and Moscow’s counter-sanctions. During the […]

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Ukrainian Security Service questions Saakashvili for 4 hours

Mikheil Saakashvili file photo

KYIV. Jan 10 (Interfax) – The leader of the Ukrainian opposition party Movement of New Forces and former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has walked out of the Ukrainian Security Service building in Kyiv after being questioned for four hours. “All of the questions concerned exclusively political actions,” Saakashvili told journalists after being questioned on Thursday. Saakashvili said he intends to […]

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NEWSWATCH: “No pomp as Russia revolution centenary nears” – AFP

Kremlin and River

“… Russia strives to strike an odd balance … remembering the uprising that brought about the Soviet Union … stopping short of romanticising regime change. … 1917 saw Tsar Nicholas II abdicate in March and the Bolsheviks … seize power in October. Civil war erupted … followed by the creation in 1922 of the USSR, built on the ruins of the Russian empire. … Russia still […]

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How a Former Governor Invaded Ukraine; The failure of President Petro Poroshenko to keep a political rival out of the country speaks volumes.

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – September 11, 2017) Leonid Bershidsky is a Bloomberg View columnist. He was the founding editor of the Russian business daily Vedomosti and founded the opinion website Slon.ru. On Sunday night, supporters of Mikheil Saakashvili, the former Georgian president, broke through a police and border guard cordon on the Ukrainian border to let their […]

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NEWSWATCH: “Contact averts conflict. Why Russia is foolish not to invite NATO observers to its war games. Instead, the biggest exercises in Europe since the cold war will be conducted amid secrecy and mistrust.” – The Economist editorial

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“… Russia will hold … the biggest military exercise in Europe since the end of the cold war. According to NATO estimates … involv[ing] at least 100,000 troops …. Revived from Soviet times by … Putin … the Zapad (West) drills … take place every four years. … the Kremlin insists that the scenarios … are purely defensive [but] that is not always how they have looked […]

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NEWSWATCH: “The Front Line Drawn Across Russia’s Backyard” – Stratfor

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

“Globalization has changed how we think about time, space and distance, but geography is still the same where it counts: national security. … former Soviet states lining Russia’s border know this better than most … their proximity to the eastern giant renders them more vulnerable to Moscow’s hybrid warfare …. Nations like Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova sit on the front line of […]

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Free Russia Forum Outlines What a Post-Putin Russia Must Do to Rejoin Civilized World

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(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, July 20, 2017) The Free Russia Forum, a group of opposition politicians and analysts, says that a post-Putin Russia can only rejoin the civilized world if it operates under the principles of the primacy of law in all spheres of life. Otherwise, it will be “impossible” to build a law-based state and […]

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UPCOMING EVENT: 4.20.17 Russia’s Hybrid War on Georgia: 2008 and Beyond – Washington, D.C., IERES at The George Washington University

File Photo of George Washington Bust at George Washington University

Subject: Upcoming Event: 4.20.17 Russia’s Hybrid War on Georgia: 2008 and Beyond Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2017 14:31:30 -0400 (EDT) From: IERES, GW Elliott School <ieresgwu@gwu.edu> Russia’s Hybrid War on Georgia: 2008 and Beyond Ambassador Vasil Sikharulidze, Visiting Fulbright Scholar, IERES In August 2008, Russian armed forces invaded Georgia in the first open military invasion of another sovereign nation by […]

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Ten Years Ago Today, Putin Declared War

Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – February 10, 2017) Ten years ago today, a cold wind blew in Munich. A decade ago today, Vladimir Putin telegraphed his intentions. On February 10, 2007, the Kremlin leader threw down the gauntlet to the West. On that day, Putin stunned the Munich Security Conference with a bellicose speech in which he railed […]

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Putin’s New Year

Europe Map

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – January 9, 2017) So 2017 is here. And one thing we can be pretty certain of this year is that Vladimir Putin’s regime will try to push the advantage it gained last year — and intensify its efforts to undermine the liberal world order. And there will be plenty of targets of opportunity. […]

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On 25 years of postmodernity in the South Caucasus

A quarter century since the collapse of Soviet rule in Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, where is the region now and what can come next? (opendemocracy.net – Georgi Derlugian – October 4, 2016) Georgi Derluguian, in his earlier life a Soviet-trained Africanist, studies the evolution of human societies along with practicing expeditionary fieldwork. Among his books are Bourdieu’s Secret Admirer in […]

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TRANSCRIPT: Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin interviewed by the German ARD TV channel

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(Government.ru – August 29, 2008) “We are not going to play by some special rules of our own. We want everyone to follow the same rules that are also referred to as international law.” Thomas Roth: Mr Prime Minister, After the escalation of tensions in Georgia, the Western public and politicians, as well as the press and other people, believe […]

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The Putin Doctrine

Russian Soldiers Marching

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – August 17, 2016) Eight years ago, Georgia’s government apparently started a war with Russia — even though Georgian troops never left Georgian territory. Two and a half years ago, the Ukrainian people apparently started a war with Russia — by overthrowing a corrupt and autocratic ruler in a popular uprising. You really gotta […]

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Will Putin Again Use the Olympics as Cover for New Aggression, This Time in Ukraine?

Olympic Rings Lit at Night, adapted from image at state.gov

(Paul Goble – Staunton, August 8, 2016) Eight years ago today, when the world was focusing on the Olympics in Beijing, Vladimir Putin used this distraction as the occasion to launch his invasion of Georgia. Now, there are both indications and fears that he may use the world’s focus on the Olympiad in Rio to reignite Russian aggression in Ukraine. […]

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War Fever

File Photo of F-22 Fighter and Ground Crew

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Jill Dougherty – July 18, 2016) Jill Dougherty is an expert on Russia and the former Soviet Union. In her three-decade career with CNN she served as Foreign Affairs Correspondent, based in Washington, D.C.,where she covered the State Department and provided analysis on international issues. The Russia File is happy to welcome Jill Dougherty as […]

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Karasin, Abashidze meet in Prague to confirm commitment to continue course toward normalization of Russia-Georgia relations – Russian Foreign Ministry

Georgia Map

MOSCOW. June 27 (Interfax) – Another meeting between Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin and Zurab Abashidze, Georgian Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Relations with Russia, was held in Prague, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. “The parties have confirmed readiness to continue the pragmatic course toward step-by-step normalization of the bilateral relations,” the Russian ministry said in a statement following […]

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Getting Each Other Wrong

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Maxim Trudolyubov, Senior Fellow, Editor-at-Large, Vedomosti Daily – June 14, 2016) Politicians have to walk the walk in order to be credible. This is even more true in today’s world, given the rise of populist demagoguery and the sorry state of trust between the most important players. The dialogue taking place between Russia, the U.S., […]

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Lawmakers: More U.S. Pushback Needed Against Russian Aggression

U.S. Capitol at Twilight With Washington Monument, National Mall, Washington, D.C., Environs and Sunset in Background

(Voice of America – voanews.com – Pamela Dockins – June 8, 2016) U.S. lawmakers have expressed concern that the Obama administration may not be engaged enough in countering what they view as Russia’s bad behavior in Ukraine and Georgia. “I worry that the message that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin must be taking from our response is that his limit-testing aggression […]

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NEWSWATCH: “NATO finalizes military build-up to counter Russia” – AFP

NATO Meeting file photo

NATO foreign ministers were … finalising the alliance’s biggest military build-up since the end of the Cold War to counter what they see as a more aggressive and unpredictable Russia. … [At] a “landmark” summit … in July … NATO leaders will formally endorse the revamp which puts more troops into eastern European member states as part of a “deter […]

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NEWSWATCH: “The Long Arm of Russian ‘Soft’ Power” – Atlantic Council/Orysia Lutsevych

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

Anxious about losing ground to Western influence in the post-Soviet space and the ousting of pro-Russia elites by popular electoral uprisings in the early 2000s, the Kremlin has developed a range of proxy groups in support of its foreign policy. This network of pro-Kremlin groups promotes the Russian World (Russkiy Mir), a flexible tool that justifies increasing Russian actions in […]

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RBTH: Can Russia stomach Ukraine and Georgia becoming NATO ‘associates’?

NATO Meeting file photo

The upcoming NATO summit in Warsaw (8-9 July 2016) will be hallmarked by Ukraine and Georgia’s elevation to a still-elusive status of “associate partners.” While the move could be interpreted as one step closer to full membership, Moscow military experts view it as lip service to keep the two countries, going through a turbulent transitional period, in the Western alliance’s […]

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TRANSCRIPT: House Hearing on Understanding and Deterring Russia: U.S. Policies and Strategies – Oral remarks of Dr. Fiona Hill

U.S. Capitol in Bright Sunlight

House Armed Services Committee February 10, 2016 Hearing on Understanding and Deterring Russia: U.S. Policies and Strategies Oral remarks of Dr. Fiona Hill Fiona Hill is director of the Center on the United States and Europe and a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. She is also co-author of the second edition of “Mr. Putin: […]

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Post-Soviet parliamentarian drama: a view from ‘the gods’ in Kiev

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The political history of Russia’s neighbours can be described in terms of one long conflict between a presidential authoritarian tendency and democratic parliamentarianism. Parliaments are the key. (opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Minakov – February 22, 2016) Mikhail Minakov is Associate Professor at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and President of the Foundation for Good Politics, Kyiv. He is also director of the Krytyka Institute, […]

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Russian Investigative Committee gives ICC data on S. Ossetia conflict crimes

Georgia Map

(Interfax – January 28, 2016) The Russian Investigative Committee has provided the International Criminal Court (ICC) with the files of a criminal case opened into the crimes committed during the 2008 armed conflict in South Ossetia, Investigative Committee director Alexander Bastrykin has said. “The Investigative Committee of Russia conducted a thorough investigation into the crimes committed by the Georgian military,” […]

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The Beginning of the End of Russia’s Estrangement from the West

Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Maxim Trudolyubov – November 17, 2015) Maxim Trudolyubov is a Senior Fellow at the Kennan Institute and the Editor-at-Large of Vedomosti, an independent Russian daily. Mr. Trudolyubov was the editorial page editor of Vedomosti between 2003 and 2015. He has been a contributing opinion writer for The International New York Times since the fall of […]

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Another Georgian native gets Ukrainian citizenship, high post in Ukraine’s national police

Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

KYIV. Nov 15 (Interfax) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has signed a decree giving Ukrainian citizenship to Giorgi Grigalashvili, who previously headed the Georgian patrol police. “You have demonstrated a result in the reform of the Georgian law enforcement system, you have to demonstrate it in Ukraine, too. I hope for your professionalism and decency,” Poroshenko said while signing the […]

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Putin’s Bipolar Disorder

Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – October 21, 2015) Separatist leaders in Georgia’s breakaway South Ossetia region announce they plan to hold a referendum on joining Russia. Kremlin-backed parties lead the polls in Moldova with the pro-Western government in Chisinau mired in corruption allegations. And Moscow appears to be getting its way on the implementation of the Minsk cease-fire […]

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