Tag: Ukrainian Politics

The dark side of Ukraine’s constitutional reform; ‘Bloody Monday’ raised the stakes for Ukraine’s constitutional reform. The new law not only affects the state’s relationship with the east, but threatens austerity measures and infringements on human rights

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Verkhovna Rada File Photo

(opendemocracy.net – Vitaly Dudin – September 16, 2015) Vitaly Dudin is a legal analyst at Ukraine’s Center for Social and Labor Research, which was created in 2013 as an independent not-for-profit institution dedicated to the analysis of socio-economic problems, collective protests, labour relations and conflicts. 265 votes ‘for’. Three people dead. This is how most of us will remember Ukraine’s […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

BNE: Ukraine reform guru urges more powers for Saakashvili after 100 days in office

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Mikheil Saakashvili file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Graham Stack in Odesa – September 10, 2015) 47-year-old Sasha Borovik is one of the most colourful and controversial of Ukraine’s new team of radical reformers parachuted in to revamp the country’s corrupt and dysfunctional institutions. In early 2015 he broke off a high-flying career abroad as an IT lawyer with Microsoft and other […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Handing Over Crimea and Donbas to Russia No Solution for Ukraine or the World

Military, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 2, 2015) Many people, horrified by the actions of pro-Moscow forces in Crimea and the Donbas or unwilling to continue to resist Russian aggression, have concluded that the rest of Ukraine would be better off without those two regions and could move forward by sacrificing them to Vladimir Putin. “If only […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Radical Menace to Ukraine

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – August 31, 2015) A police officer was killed during a protest in Kiev on Monday. It was the first such fatality since Ukraine’s “Revolution of Dignity” last year. Radical nationalists, some with weapons, gathered to protest a constitutional amendment proposed by President Petro Poroshenko that would make it possible to reintegrate separatist areas […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Moscow Won’t Succeed in Using Ukrainian Radicals to Destabilize Kyiv, Portnikov Says

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, September 1, 2015) Having failed to find the number of backers for the Russian world in Ukraine it expected, Moscow in the opinion of many in Kyiv is seeking to use Ukrainian radicals in the pursuit of its goal of destabilizing Kyiv to the point that Ukraine will fall back into Russia’s […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

Ukrainian premier Yatsenyuk’s party drops out of elections

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Arseniy Yatsenyuk file photo

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – August 28, 2015) The People’s Front party founded by Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk and allies has effectively thrown in the towel, annnouncing that it will not participate in local elections on October 25, 2015. The move follows a catastrophic drop in ratings to under 3%. “People’s Front party will not […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

Exiled Ukraine Premier Seeks to Regain Power, Though Not Crimea

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Irina Reznik, Stepan Kravchenko – August 19, 2015) Former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who’s formed a government-in-exile to try to regain power, said his country is ripe for more regime change. Amid economic crisis and conflict in the country’s east, Ukrainians are disillusioned with the pro-European policies of President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: Court bans LGBT march in Odesa

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Map and Flag

ODESA. Aug 13 (Interfax) – The Odesa District Administrative Court has banned an equality march in Odesa which representatives of the LGBT community planned to conduct. The court told Interfax the decision was made on a lawsuit filed by Odesa City Council. Among the arguments presented by the city council was that there are negative tendencies in society about the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment ,

District 205: what the Chernihiv elections mean for Ukrainian politics

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Ahead of municipal elections in October, Ukrainian politics gets dirty, hot and local in the northern town of Chernihiv. (opendemocracy.net – Valery Kalnysh – August 3, 2015) Valery Kalnysh is deputy editor of Ukraine’s Radio Vesti. Meteorologists in Ukraine called 26 July the hottest day on record for 80 years. But while temperatures reached 26 degrees in Chernihiv, some 140km […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

NEWSWATCH Kyiv Post: Violence erupts after rival Kharkiv rallies

JRL NewsBlog, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

The Kviy Post covers political violence erupting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Special forces were deployed along with police negotiators on Aug. 3 when a rally in Kharkiv erupted into violent clashes, with pro-Ukrainian activists driving supporters of the Opposition Bloc into a building in a scene frighteningly reminiscent of the May 2 Odesa massacre. Kharkiv has been […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: Committee for the Salvation of Ukraine believes there will be no peace in Ukraine with its current political administration

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

MOSCOW. Aug 3 (Interfax) – Mykola Azarov, the head of the Committee for the Salvation of Ukraine and former prime minister of Ukraine, believes peace and accord cannot be established in Ukraine without changing its political administration. “The Committee for the Salvation of Ukraine believes that it is impossible to establish peace, accord, development and provide people with minimal social […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK Financial Times: Demoralised Ukraine troops start to lose faith in Kiev. Echoes broader ebbing of public support for political leaders

Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

On the road into Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine, Vasyl, a Ukrainian army soldier, gestures at fresh roadside craters – the result of shelling by Russian-backed separatists the night before. His men face attacks almost nightly as they guard a checkpoint in this front line suburb of rebel-held Donetsk, he says.

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Ukraine elites face reshuffle as Tymoshenko regains popularity

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – KYIV BLOG: Sergei Kuznetsov in Kyiv – July 30, 2015) When Batkivshchyna (Fatherland), the party headed by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, barely scraped over the 5% barrier required to secure representation in Ukraine’s parliament during snap elections in late October, many experts declared that Tymoshenko’s political shelf-life had expired. Society wanted to see […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , ,

Mokrushyna podcast [re: Ukraine]

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

Subject: Mokrushyna podcast Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2015 17:25:19 -0400 From: Pietro Shakarian <pashakarian@gmail.com> Here is the link to my latest Reconsidering Russia podcast: https://soundcloud.com/pashakarian/reconsidering-russia-podcast-04-an-interview-with-halyna-mokrushyna Guest: Halyna Mokrushyna on democracy in Ukraine today. Dr. Mokrushyna holds a PhD in linguistics and an MA in communication. She is also currently enrolled in the PhD program in sociology at the University of […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Ukraine Again Relies on Foreigners for Leadership Help

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Mikheil Saakashvili file photo

(Voice of America – Oleksiy Kuzmenko – July 24, 2015) As Ukraine is struggling to reform and survive during war, it is relying on a cohort of accomplished foreigners for leadership. For example, foreign-born ministers are negotiating a way out of Ukraine’s debt burden, and former statesmen from Georgia are at the forefront of Ukraine’s fight against corruption. Ukraine has […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Ukraine: Tainted Chernihiv Election Raises Concerns about Future Elections

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

Subject: Ukraine: Tainted Chernihiv Election Raises Concerns about Future Elections Date: Mon, 27 Jul 2015 From: Freedom House <press@freedomhouse.org> Ukraine: Tainted Chernihiv Election Raises Concerns about Future Elections Washington – July 27, 2015 – Following a badly marred one-off parliamentary election July 26 in Chernihiv, Ukraine, marked by serious electoral irregularities before and after the vote, Freedom House released the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

NEWSWATCH AFP: Controversial Russian politician named deputy in Ukraine (Maria Gaidar)

JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

AFP reports on involvement in the Ukrainian political scene by Maria Gaidar, daughter of former Russian prime minister Yegor Gaidar.  She is nominated to work with former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili. The nomination of a Russian politician to a top post in Odessa has caused a flurry of controversy in the tense political atmosphere of the violent Ukraine conflict. Maria Gaidar, daughter […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Ukraine’s left: between a swamp and a hard place

Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

With a new-found reputation for radicalism, Ukrainian politics is in flux. The left, however, are nowhere to be seen. (opendemocracy.net – Denys Gorbach – July 24, 2015) Denys Gorbach is a Ukrainian journalist and economic analyst writing on economy, energy, political and social issues. He is a member of the Autonomous Workers’ Union. The events of the past two years-the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , ,

Interfax: Ukraine to hold new local elections after decentralization amendments to constitution take effect – parliamentary speaker

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

KYIV. July 23 (Interfax) – After amendments to the Ukrainian constitution aimed at decentralizing the governance system take effect, Ukraine will hold new local elections, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said. “After the constitutional amendments take effect, we will hold elections for local self-government bodies again, because these constitutional amendments invest territorial communities with absolutely different powers,” Yatsenyuk said at a […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Ukrainians Reject Federalization of Their Country by More than Two to One, Poll Shows

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Paul Goble – Staunton, July 21, 2015) Even if such steps would bring peace, Ukrainians oppose giving special status to the Russian-controlled Donbas 56.1 percent to 26.4 percent and transforming their country into a federal state as a whole 59.1 percent to 21 percent, according to a new poll conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology. The agency surveyed 2044 […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Black cash still oils Ukrainian politics

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Hand Pulling Cash from Envelope

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – KYIV BLOG: Graham Stack in Kyiv – July 17, 2015) In his first interview since being fired as head of Ukraine’s state security service on June 16, Valentyn Nalivaichenko alleged that Ukraine’s leading political parties are behind huge flows of secret funds moving to and fro from offshore jurisdictions. He is only the highest […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saakashvili is turning politics upside down in Ukraine

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Mikheil Saakashvili file photo

Down on the Black Sea, the newly appointed governor of Odessa (and ex-president of Georgia) Mikheil Saakasvhili is making waves. Is the balance of the Ukrainian state beginning to shift? (opendemocracy.net – Victoria Narizhna – July 9, 2015) Victoria Narizhna is a Ukrainian columnist, essayist, translator, cultural manager, and civil activist from Dnipropetrovsk. During EuroMaidan, Yaroslav Hrytsak, one of Ukraine’s […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

The unlikely return of Yulia Tymoshenko

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(opendemocracy.net – Mikhail Minakov – June 17, 2015) 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, and editor-in-chief of the journal Ideology and Politics. The success of post-Maidan Ukraine depends on the effectiveness of the ruling coalition. Does Yulia Tymoshenko want to join […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

A break in the clouds over Ukraine’s future

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – KYIV BLOG: Ben Aris in Moscow – June 8, 2015) It’s not exactly blue-sky news, but after a little over a year in office, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had a few things to boast about in his recent annual speech before the Rada lower chamber of Parliament. Reforms have started and the first green […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Three-quarters of Ukrainians not satisfied with government

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File photo of Barack Obama and Petro Poroshenko facing one another, with Obama gesturing

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Henry Kirby in London – May 27, 2015) A recent survey by international polling firm TNS has shown that less than a quarter of Ukrainians are currently satisfied with the government in Kyiv, while only slightly more than a third are satisfied with President Petro Poroshenko. 51% of those surveyed said they were either […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Nazis Triumph Over Communists in Ukraine

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Bershidsky – May 19, 2015) It’s goodbye Lenin, hello Nazi collaborators in Ukraine these days. Laws signed into effect by President Petro Poroshenko require the renaming of dozens of towns and hundreds of streets throughout the country to eliminate Soviet-era names. At the same time, Ukraine will begin to honor groups that helped Hitler exterminate […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK AP: Ukraine Erases Communist Reminders as It Tries to Ditch Past

History, Soviet Union, Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

Ukraine’s leaders are eager to be seen as reinventing the nation. And erasing all visible reminders of the communist past, they say, is an important step toward that goal.

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK Politico.eu/Mikhail Saakashvili: Poroshenko’s Four Ds. The Ukrainian president outlines the roadmap to “a new, democratic, European Ukraine.”

Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File photo of Barack Obama and Petro Poroshenko facing one another, with Obama gesturing

Post-Maidan Ukraine is at war. Not only against Russian invaders, but more generally against sovietism. This war has a military front in the East, but as important is the political, economic, social frontline in the rest of the country. Resisting the invaders and reforming the nation are two fronts of a same fight: the struggle for the emergence of a […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: Donbass “republics” ready to discuss autonomy within Ukraine-rebel chiefs

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(Interfax – May 11, 2015) The leadership of the [self-proclaimed] Donetsk People’s Republic [DPR] has admitted the possibility of assuming a broad autonomy status, but without any harm to the interests of the self-proclaimed republic. “We agree to the broadest autonomy without harm to our interests. If Kiev does not adhere to the Minsk agreements, the DPR will be forced […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Ukraine faces challenges of coalition infighting, devolution

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Sergei Kuznetsov in Kyiv – April 30, 2015) While Western nations refuse to provide Ukraine with arms, preferring instead to financially drip-feed the country and maintain pressure on Russia with sanctions, Kyiv is facing several new challenges – in particular keeping the ruling coalition together at the same time as managing the thorny process […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Champagne Tastes On Beer Incomes: Tax Declarations In Ukraine Suggest Enduring Corruption

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Katya Gorchinskaya – KYIV, April 21, 2015) Yulia Tymoshenko didn’t have much of an income in 2014. The former Ukrainian prime minister spent part of the year in prison, part of it rehabilitating in the hospital, and much of it in back-to-back campaigns for president and parliament. But nevertheless, she managed to buy a luxury car, […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

Miners break through security cordons near Ukrainian Presidential Administration building

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

KYIV. April 22 (Interfax) – Over a thousand miners who approached the Presidential Administration edifice on Wednesday morning to deliver their demands have broken through security cordons on Bankova Street in downtown Kyiv and came close to the building. The protesters are pounding their helmets against the ground and shouting. They have not expressed their demands but their behavior is […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , ,

NEWSLINK Deutsche Welle: High-profile killings in Ukraine sow hatred

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

The murder of a pro-Russian opposition politician and a journalist in Kyiv threaten to further divide Ukraine. While many are pointing the finger at Moscow, others are blaming the government for not doing enough.

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

NEWSWATCH Chatham House: Ukraine’s Oligarch Gambit

JRL NewsBlog, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

Writing for Chatham House in the aftermath of Igor Kolomoisky’s dismissal as regional governor, Orysia Lutsevych considers the impact of Ukrainian oligarchs and efforts to address their role. The grip the oligarchs have on Ukraine’s economy could further undermine the country’s integrity. Attacking their vested interests is dangerous but preserving the current state of affairs is even riskier.   According to […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Team Kolomoisky; It’s easy to make misleading conclusions when it comes to Team Kolomoisky – if you don’t know Dnipropetrovsk from the inside

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

(opendemocracy.net – Victoria Narizhna – April 9, 2015) Victoria Narizhna is a Ukrainian columnist, essayist, translator, cultural manager, and civil activist from Dnipropetrovsk. After Ihor Kolomoisky, a pro-Maidan oligarch and governor of Dnipropetrovsk, allegedly used volunteer fighters to seize control of Ukraine’s state-owned gas company, he resigned his governorship live on television, causing a rift in Ukraine’s power elites. The ensuing scandal […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Ukraine’s Domestic Problems Could Spark New Protests if War Ends, Kyiv Economist Says

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, April 13, 2015) As long as Russian aggression against Ukraine continues, patriotism is likely to trump concerns about domestic difficulties, according to Ella Libanova, a reflection of the fact that “the Maidan and Russian aggression has pushed Ukrainians toward more responsible attitudes toward both their country and their own fate.” In a commentary […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

NEWSLINK The National Interest: Europe’s Nightmare: Ukraine’s Massive Meltdown. “Above all, what Ukraine needs today is for the West to lean hard on Kiev in support of economic and political reform.”

Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Ukraine, Including Crimea, and Neighbors, Including Russia

The Minsk II accord is not a peace deal. It is a cease-fire agreement, and a fragile one at that. Beyond suspending large-scale hostilities, pulling back heavy weapons and exchanging prisoners of war, Minsk can hardly be implemented.   http://nationalinterest.org/feature/europes-nightmare-ukraines-massive-meltdown-12597

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK Kyiv Post/Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group: Politicizing History: Parliament adopts Dangerously Divisive Laws

History, Soviet Union, Human Rights, Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Verkhovna Rada File Photo

On April 9 Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada adopted four laws pertaining to Ukraine’s recent history, two of which at least are highly contentious, with the manner in which they were presented to parliament and voted on also grounds for concern.  At a time when Russia is waging undeclared war against Ukraine, the need for unity is paramount.  Instead, a majority in […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Poroshenko ready for referendum on Ukraine’s state system

Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Maidan Square in Kiev, Ukraine

(Interfax – April 6, 2015) Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he is ready to hold a referendum regarding Ukraine’s state system. “I am ready to launch a referendum on the issue of the state system, if you see a need for that,” Poroshenko said at a meeting of the constitutional commission in Kiev on Monday. Poroshenko earlier said he is ready […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,
1 … 6 7 8 9