A year ago, reporting from Simferopol about the takeover of Crimea by Russia was a tense and difficult business. At any moment, as the gangs of activists who had flooded across the border swaggered through the city streets, violence seemed on the point of breaking out. Today, Simferopol is completely peaceful. …
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Ukraine’s fight to control its destiny is underway not only on its eastern battlefields but also in the halls of its parliament and in those of global financial institutions. The struggle to keep the former Soviet state afloat economically has been daunting, as the nation’s parliament has fallen into disarray and failed to enact major economic reforms. … http://www.rand.org/blog/2015/03/for-ukraine-the-battle-to-bolster-a-crashing-economy.html
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The assassination of activist Boris Nemtsov was carried out by Chechens inspired by Islam, according to the Kremlin. But as that claim falls apart, Russian eyes are turning elsewhere The Kremlin’s case against five Chechens accused of murdering liberal activist Boris Nemtsov for his “anti-Muslim” statements appears to be unraveling at lightning speed. The alleged shooter, Zaur Dadayev, was likely […]
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Well, he’s ba-ack, but Russia’s brief sojourn without Vladimir Putin in public view won’t be forgotten soon. Even as Putin rather airily dismissed the issue of his long public absence on Monday, saying life “would be boring without gossip,” the frenzied rumor-mongering over the Ten Days That Shook the Twitter World raised a lot of serious issues. Most of all, […]
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A little more than a year ago, the Ukrainian people chose a path of fundamental change. Citizens took a stand in Kyiv’s Maidan Square for the right to live in a free, independent and prosperous European country and to put an end to endemic corruption and mismanagement. More than 100 people gave their lives during the Revolution of Dignity. Since […]
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The impact of oil prices on the Russian economy is well known. After crude fell 50 percent last fall, the Ministry of Economic Development forecast a 3 percent GDP contraction this year, along with 12 percent inflation. The crash in oil prices will not only test President Vladimir Putin’s domestic support. It will upend Russian foreign policy, challenging the modernization of the country’s armed forces while diminishing its influence in Asia […]
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… Russia will not be able to keep pace with the outside world. If Russia does not possess sufficient economic strength (I do not mean simply hard currency—I mean the capacity to create wealth by real production), surrounding countries will not willingly ally with it. … http://carnegie.ru/eurasiaoutlook/?fa=59335
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Ukrainian leaders, it has been said, never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity. Though it’s still unclear whether the new government can break this pattern, the opportunity before it now is nothing less than to undo the system of institutionalized corruption that has held Ukraine down since independence, and made it vulnerable to aggression and dismemberment. Despite the enormous […]
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In the year since Crimea was absorbed by Russia, foreigners living in the country have had to make adjustments due to sanctions and rising geopolitical tensions. Has Crimea affected their day-to-day lives? …
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A new documentary to be aired on Russian state TV confirms a Kremlin plot to occupy Crimea, which has a Russian naval port. The annexation fueled a still-unresolved conflict in eastern Ukraine. … http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2015/0312/Putin-s-grab-of-Crimea-still-rankles-West.-How-about-Crimeans-video
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Twenty-five years after the Cold War’s end, the struggle for Ukraine’s survival as an independent nation has become a test of the character of our time. Since the protests last year on the Maidan, Kiev’s main square, the country has faced two crippling wars: a hot one over its eastern provinces, and another one over efforts to prevent its political […]
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RBTH presents a selection of views from leading Russian media on international events. Today, reports that the U.S. will not supply defensive weapons to Ukraine at Germany’s request and splits emerge in the EU over Russia policy. …
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Russian-American relations are at their frostiest levels since the cold war. Can the two sides reach an accommodation? Or are relations doomed to continue their downward spiral? …
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