(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Howard Amos – November 1, 2014) Concerns are rising among U.S. businesses in Russia that Washington lawmakers could move to enshrine sanctions on Russia in new legislation, extending their impact and delaying their repeal. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously passed such a legislative proposal last month and analysts warn the measure is more likely […]
» Read more
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Daisy Sindelar, Halyna Tereshchuk – October 31, 2014) Andriy Sadovyy acts like a man with nothing to hide. In 2013, when the Lviv mayor purchased a new family home, he invited journalists to the house for a tour. And now, as his fledgling party prepares to enter the notoriously down-and-dirty world of parliamentary politics, Sadovyy says […]
» Read more
(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, November 2, 2014) In 1991, Ukrainians separated themselves “not from Russia but from Moscow,” as shown by the continuing willingness of most to speak Russian, historian Georgy Mirsky says. Indeed, at that time, “no one except Bandera supporters separated themselves off from Russia or from the Russian people.” But now, the Russian […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, November 2 (RIA Novosti) – The political crisis in Ukraine erupted in November 2013, when the country’s Cabinet of Ministers announced a halt to the country’s European integration process. The so-called Maidan protests started to be staged in Kiev’s central square and soon spread across the country, which resulted in violent armed clashes between the radicals and police and […]
» Read more
LUHANSK, November 2 (RIA Novosti) – Voter turnout in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine is about 38 percent as of 5 p.m. local time (14:00 GMT),Luhansk election commission chief Sergei Kozyakov told journalists Sunday. “As of 5 p.m. local time [14:00 GMT] the turnout totaled 129,395 voters, i.e. 37.83 percent of the total,” Kozyakov said at […]
» Read more
KIEV, November 2 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev has claimed to observe movement of military equipment and troops from Russia to the Donbas region, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council’s spokesperson Andriy Lysenko said in a statement Sunday, but failed to provide evidence. “The intensive movement of military equipment and troops from the territory of the Russian Federation to the territory […]
» Read more
… 22. RFE/RL: Can Lviv Mayor Change Ukrainian Politics Once And For All?
23. The American Interest: Steven Pifer, RUSSIA AND THE WEST. Taking Stock in Ukraine. Seven things to know about the crisis, Moscow’s and Kyiv’s actions, and the West’s response. …
… 37. The Economist: Russia and the West. Hard talk. What lies behind Vladimir Putin’s latest anti-American rant.
38. Institute of Modern Russia: Donald Jensen, A Cold Peace?
39. New York Times: Serge Schmemann, Blaming the West for Things Gone Wrong, Mr. Putin Sings an Old Tune.
40. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, Russia’s flights over Europe: How much bark, how much bite? NATO says it has seen an ‘unusual level of air activity over European airspace,’ involving 19 Russian bombers and fighters on Wednesday alone. But the flights are more message than menace, experts say.
41. New York Times: New Russian Boldness Revives a Cold War Tradition: Testing the Other Side. …
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – CONFERENCE CALL: Ben Aris in Kyiv – October 31, 2014) Two days after a crucial parliamentary election that put the seal on Ukraine’s latest political transformation, SP Advisors, a leading local investment firm, held its first investment conference and invited international investors to Kyiv to debate the Eastern European country’s future. The mood at […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska, Volodymyr Verbyany – October 31, 2014) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko “suggested” his party support Arseniy Yatsenyuk for the post of prime minister. The president made the announcement on his Twitter account today, less than a week after Poroshenko’s and Yatsenyuk’s parties finished neck-and-neck as the top vote winners in Oct. 26 parliamentary elections. Pro-European […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 31, 2014) Russia, Ukraine and the EU have signed a trilateral gas agreement securing the resumption of Russian gas supplies to Ukraine from November. The deal followed a total of 30 hours in talks continuing into the night of October 30, when the sides announced an agreement. Russian Energy Minister Aleksandr Novak, EU Energy Commissioner […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 31, 2014) The newly appointed governor of Lugansk, former interior minister Hennady Moskal, has said in an interview that 80-95% of the region is pro-Russian. With over half of the region including the eponymous capital held by Russian-backed rebels, Moskal is now administrating the region from the town of Severodonetsk. Moskal, a highly […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – The first stage work of the US supply rocket Antares, which exploded seconds after lift-off on Tuesday, was conducted by Ukrainian state design office Yuzhnoye, according to the company’s website. “The Antares LV stage one core structure was developed by Yuzhnoye State Design Office, manufactured by Yuzhny Machine-Building Plant (YMZ) in cooperation with Ukrainian […]
» Read more
[check back for updates, including more links; links also posted to facebook and twitter] Johnson’s Russia List JRL 2014-#225 :: Thursday 30 October 2014 E-Mail: davidjohnson@starpower.net A project of the Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs: www.ieres.org JRL homepage: russialist.org JRL on Facebook: facebook.com/russialist JRL on Twitter: twitter.com/JohnsonRussiaLi Support JRL: russialist.org/funding.php Ukraine 1. Moscow Times: Fire Sweeps Through Kiev’s Oldest Movie Theater During […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – October 30, 2014) A fire has swept through the oldest movie theater in Ukraine’s capital Kiev during the showing of an LGBT movie, ravaging the building in what witnesses described as a likely arson attack. None of the 100 or so people who attended the screening Wednesday night appeared to have been […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 30, 2014) The People’s Front party, founded and led by Ukraine’s prime minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, and President Petro Poroshenko’s eponymous Petro Poroshenko Bloc are disputing which of them won Ukraine’s landmark parliamentary elections held on October 26. At stake is the right to draw up a crucial programme of sweeping reforms on which […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska – October 30, 2014) Ukraine’s economy shrank 5.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, the most in almost five years, as industrial production and the hryvnia slumped amid the bloody conflict in the country’s east. The drop is less than the 9 percent median estimate of six economists in a Bloomberg […]
» Read more
NOVOAZOVSK (Ukraine), October 30 (RIA Novosti) – The self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk (DPR) will stipulate its own conditions on if it were to sign a demarcation line agreement with Kiev, DPR Prime Minister Alexander Zakharchenko said Thursday. “There will be new conditions [on the signing of the demarcation line agreement], ours. We consider the entire Donetsk region DPR territory,” […]
» Read more
(Interfax – October 29, 2014) Work on agreeing a new dividing line between militia forces and the Ukrainian army has been suspended on Kiev’s initiative, and now “we are preparing for war”, Oleksandr (Aleksandr) Zakharchenko, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people’s republic (DPR) has said, as reported by privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax on 29 October. “Ukraine has announced […]
» Read more
… 10. Business New Europe: Ben Aris, Ukraine to introduce sweeping tax reforms.
11. Bloomberg: Safe-Deposit Box Craze Lays Bare Ukraine Woes After Vote.
12. Reuters: Ukraine’s Yatseniuk sees himself staying on as prime minister.
13. www.opendemocracy.net: Natalia Antonova, Post-election, Ukrainians and Russians face an uncertain future. …
(opendemocracy.net – Natalia Antonova – October 28, 2014) Natalia Antonova was born in Kyiv and grew up in North Carolina. She works as a journalist, playwright, and social media director at Russia Beyond the Headlines. Ukraine’s snap parliamentary elections have once again proven that the mainstream of society rejects the far right – not that the Russian government or media […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – The anti-Russian sanctions imposed by the European Union will not be scaled back or rescinded in the immediate future. They’re likely to be in effect until mid-March of next year, an EU diplomatic source told RIA Novosti. But as Nigel Kushner, the CEO of W Legal, an international law firm that specializes in sanctions, […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 29, 2014) Russia’s ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov called on the EU to show Russia it has the money to pay for Ukrainian gas, before Russia renews gas supplies to Ukraine, which were cut after a dispute over pricing and arrears. The EU is set to disburse nearly $1bn by the end […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska – October 29, 2014) Wary of banks and alarmed by armed conflict around her parents’ town, Daria Demianenko joined Ukraine’s rush to an old-fashioned way of squirreling away cash. More commonly known as a home for fancy jewels and ill-gotten gains, safe-deposit boxes are swallowing a growing chunk of regular savings in Ukraine. For […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Kyiv – October 29, 2014) When Ukraine’s newly elected parliament meets for the first time, probably in November, the first thing it will do is vote on a set of sweeping tax reforms that could transform the country and spark a long-awaited economic recovery. “Once we get a new government in […]
» Read more
KYIV. Oct 29 (Interfax) – The Ukrainian Cabinet of ministers to be formed after the establishment of a parliamentary coalition in the 8th Verkhovna Rada will have to draw up and adopt a plan for the restoration of the country by December 15, 2014, says a draft coalition agreement published on the Petro Poroshenko Bloc’s website on Wednesday morning. “The […]
» Read more
DONETSK, October 29 (RIA Novosti) – Kiev has withdrawn from the delineation agreement it signed with Donetsk authorities without any explanation, the deputy prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) said Wednesday. “A delineation was agreed between the opposing forces, but Kiev recalled the signature of its representative, Gen. Dumanskiy, from the document without giving any reason,” Andrei […]
» Read more
The Snipers Massacre on the Maidan in Ukraine By Ivan Katchanovski, Ph.D. School of Political Studies & Department of Communication University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada ikatchan@uottawa.ca Paper presented at the Chair of Ukrainian Studies Seminar at the University of Ottawa, Ottawa, October 1, 2014 [With visuals and footnotes here academia.edu/8776021/The_Snipers_Massacre_on_the_Maidan_in_Ukraine] The Snipers Massacre Question The massacre of […]
» Read more
… 20. Kyiv Post: Opposition Bloc outperforms forecasts, expected to be fourth largest party.
21. Bloomberg: Putin Narrative of Abandoned Ukraine East Fueled by Vote.
22. RFE/RL: Ten Takeaways From Ukraine’s Vote. …
(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Glenn Kates – October 27, 2014) Ukrainians have voted in a new parliament for the first time since the Euromaidan protests ousted President Viktor Yanukovych and his pro-Russian government earlier this year. Here are some takeaways from the October 26 vote: The West-Russia divide is no longer relevant in parliament Since the collapse of the Soviet […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Daryna Krasnolutska – October 27, 2014) Vladimir Putin may have more ammunition to extend his influence over the Ukraine’s war-torn east after the country’s parliamentary election. A surge in support for pro-European parties leaves the area, the bedrock of ousted leader Viktor Yanukovych’s popularity, with less of a say in the nation’s future. Parties backing President […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 28, 2014) Russia will recognize elections to be held by rebels in Ukraine’s Donbass region on November 2, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told newspaper Izvestiya in an interview. The move will likely worsen Russia’s already strained relations with the West, which has demanded that Russia withdraw support for the rebels and assist […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – October 28, 2014) With 80% of votes counted, People’s Front party headed by Ukraine’s prime minster, Arseny Yatsenyuk, has held its hair-breadth lead over President Petro Poroshenko’s eponymous party. People’s Front is on 21.94% of the vote, while Petro Poroshenko Bloc is on 21.6%, according to the Ukrainian Central Election Commission. But with half […]
» Read more
KYIV. Oct 28 (Interfax) – Ukraine’s central election commission announced after processing 90.02% of valid protocols that the People’s Front had won 22.16% and Petro Poroshenko Bloc 21.77% of the votes in Sunday’s parliamentary polls. The Samopomich association garnered 10.96% of the votes, Opposition Bloc 9.35%, Radical Party 7.46% and Batkivshchina 5.7% according to figures displayed at the Central Election […]
» Read more
[“Taking Measure Of The Ukrainian Mind-Set” – RFE/RL – rferl.org – October 25, 2014] Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty interviewed Kiev-based sociologist Iryna Bekeshkyna about unfolding conditions in Ukraine, back on the eve of recent national legislative elections: How have Ukrainian attitudes toward the EU, Russia, and NATO changed? Is it possible to conduct opinion polls in the Donbas? And why is […]
» Read more
[“In eastern Ukraine, most voters dream only of peace” – Reuters – Thomas Grove – Oct. 26, 2014] Reuters covers hopes in eastern Ukraine for an end to conflict, amidst recent national legislative elections, even as separatist-dominated areas failed to participate. Voters in eastern Ukraine had one thing on their mind as they voted in Sunday’s parliamentary election: an end […]
» Read more
[“In Ukraine’s East, Low Voter Turnout in Election Signals Kiev’s Challenges; Wary of Poroshenko’s Government, Few Voters Head to Polls in Eastern Town Controlled by Kiev” – Wall Street Journal – James Marson – October 27, 2014] The Wall Street Journal covers unfolding circumstances in Ukraine’s east, including issues over participation in recent legislative elections: * * * The lack of […]
» Read more
[“Ukraine leader wins pro-West mandate but wary of Russia” – Reuters – Richard Balmforth and Timothy Heritage – KIEV, Oct 27, 2014] Reuters covers Ukrainian legislative elections that favored West-leaning Ukrainian Presidenti Petro Poroshenko: Pro-Western parties will dominate Ukraine’s parliament after an election handed President Petro Poroshenko a mandate to end a separatist conflict and steer the country further out […]
» Read more
[“Alleged Russian intelligence agent caught outside Kyiv claiming to be FSB general (PHOTOS)” – Kyiv Post – October 24, 2014] The Kiev Post covers reports that Ukraine captured a Russian operative connected with Ukrainian separatists, posing as a journalist: Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) says on Oct. 23 it apprehended a high-level Russian intelligence agent and a commissioned military officer […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Ben Aris in Moscow – October 24, 2014) This weekend’s crucial parliamentary elections in Ukraine could mark the end of two decades of failure and the launch of the country’s attempt to catch-up with the rest of the region. The trouble is that Ukraine is already off to a really bad start. There has […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Slack in Kyiv – October 27, 2014) Ukrainians have elected a pro-European parliament in snap elections on October 26, according to preliminary results. The results show pro-European parties headed by President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk respectively are neck-and-neck for first place, with 20% of votes counted. Both men said they […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian parliamentary elections went ahead according to Ukrainian law, which raises hope that the country could return to normal, the head of Russia’s Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov said Monday. “As far as it can be judged from media reports, the elections were held normally. This raises hope […]
» Read more
MOSCOW, October 27 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow considers the parliamentary elections in Ukraine as complete and is ready to recognize their results, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday. “It seems that these elections are complete, though not throughout the entire territory of Ukraine. I believe we will recognize these elections because it’s important for us that a power in […]
» Read more
… 12. Wall Street Journal: In Ukraine’s East, Low Voter Turnout in Election Signals Kiev’s Challenges. Wary of Poroshenko’s Government, Few Voters Head to Polls in Eastern Town Controlled by Kiev.
13. Reuters: In eastern Ukraine, most voters dream only of peace.
14. Kyiv Post: Peace elusive for voters in Sloviansk district. …
… 16. Christian Science Monitor: Fred Weir, In gloomy Ukraine, an unexpected gleam for one company. …
17. Moscow Times: Russian Intellectuals Ask State-Run TV to Admit Falsehoods in Ukraine Reports.
18. Reuters: Russia still has troops in Ukraine, NATO says. …
DONETSK, October 23 (RIA Novosti) – TheDonetsk militias will free from the Ukrainian government forces the outskirts of the village of Yelenovka in Donetsk’s Volnovakha region by the end of November, Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR) Prime Minister Aleksander Zakharchenko said Thursday. “This is our land, our city. It’s not likely we will enter there in the near future, but I […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – October 24, 2014) A congress of Russian intellectuals has appealed to the head of state-run Channel One television to acknowledge “falsifications” in its reporting on Ukraine, holding the network accountable for the deaths of young Russians who were moved to go and fight there. The congress told Channel One chief Konstantin Ernst […]
» Read more
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Matthew Bodner – October 24, 2014) While top Russian officials and pro-Kremlin politicians continue to paint NATO as an existential threat to Russia and even an instigator of the Ukraine crisis, Moscow has been working to strengthen the legitimacy of its own security organization: the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). But while this bundling of […]
» Read more
(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Volodymyr Verbyany – October 23, 2014) Andriy Teteruk had just returned from fighting as a volunteer battalion leader in eastern Ukraine when he received an invitation from Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to run for parliament on his People’s Front ballot. “I also got proposals from the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and Oleh Lyashko’s Radical Party,” Teteruk, 41, […]
» Read more
(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Kyiv – October 24, 2014) Ukraine is to go to the polls on October 26 in early elections likely to give forces supporting President Petro Poroshenko a strong majority in the parliament, paving the way for sweeping constitutional reform. “This should be a constitutional majority,” said Poroshenko, out campaigning in the […]
» Read more