August will mark the fourth anniversary of the start of the Russo-Georgian war, sparked off by conflict over the disputed area of South Ossetia. Georgian-Ossetian problems go back at least 20 years and there is no solution in sight. This is because the status quo, so painful for South Ossetia, sui
After previous repressive measures by the Kremlin, the ‘March of Millions’ in Moscow on 12th June was expected to turn ugly. Raids on leading oppositionists had many talking about another 1937 (the year of Stalin’s Great Purge), yet the expected provocation and police brutality did not happen. Jul
The recent Eurovision song contest catapulted Azerbaijan into world news and focused attention on its internal problems. But foreign policy issues are a cause of considerable concern too. The country is caught in between Iran, Russia and the West and finding a way to meet the needs of all of them
Despite a heavy riot police presence, a spirit of optimism and unity was tangible at Moscow’s ‘March of Millions’ yesterday, says Susanne Sternthal. The self-proclaimed ‘leaders’ of the opposition, on the other hand, were reduced to playing a secondary role.
Condemnation in the British media of racist incidents in Ukraine has moved on from concern into hysteria, says Anton Shekhovtsov. Not only unfair, it does little to encourage those trying to push a progressive agenda within the country.
While the rest of the world is embracing new forms of civil activism, Ukrainians, who were once responsible for one of history’s most symbolic and peaceful revolutions, are staying at home. With the country in severe economic difficulty and the Yanukovych government winding back all but the most t
In a previous article, Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov asked who was bugging the Russian opposition. Here they develop this theme, looking at how a combination of recent legislation and new technology has allowed Russia’s many security agencies to expand their activities still further.
Reaction inside Russia and further afield to the imprisonment of 3 members of a punk rock girl band after their performance in one of Moscow’s cathedrals has been by turns outraged and baffled. The girls are still on remand, awaiting trial for hooliganism (maximum sentence 7 years). One can only h
In Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood have offered to circumcise women for a nominal fee as part of their community services, a move that threatens to reverse decades of local struggle against the harmful practice argues Mariz Tadros
Twenty eight years exactly since the first resolution on Roma was passed by the European Parliament, the EU is finally publishing its Framework Strategy on Roma. But is there any progress to report?
Vladimir Putin’s swearing-in as President last week was accompanied by protest rallies that were brutally broken up by police, and their organisers imprisoned. But as the Occupy Abay sit-in and organised ‘strolls’ through the centre of Moscow have shown, protesters are gaining confidence and adopt
45 years on, the International War Crimes Tribunal set up by Bertrand Russell and Jean-Paul Sartre is being used to address abuses of migrants’ rights in Europe. It is time to inject solidarity and accountability into the European migration regime, Jennifer Allsopp reports from Stockholm on Tribun
