Protest in Ukraine initially seemed to reveal a country sharply divided into the pro-European west and pro-Russian east. But there are signs that shared issues of civil rights and democracy are gaining ground on traditional differences.
The murder of a young boxer in Omsk two months ago opened a real can of political worms, with the local Roma community in particular becoming the butt of neo-Nazi threats
The Russian Government has a lot riding on the Sochi Olympics – prestige, glory, credibility, and an enormous amount of money. But why choose Sochi in the first place?
The Maidan protests, which started over two months ago, have drawn a very clear line between the political parties. At future elections, voters will ask their candidates, ‘What did you do during Maidan?’ How might the politicians reply? на русском языке
What does President Putin hope to gain from hosting the Winter Olympics? There is a grave danger that the messages behind the Kremlin’s rebranding exercise could boomerang against the government.
At the end of 2013 veteran US statesman Zbigniew Brzezinski, known for his fierce anti-Soviet stance, wrote in the Financial Times that Russia would find it impossible to revive its former empire. But how convincing are his arguments?
Negotiations between the Ukrainian Government and the Opposition have been through several rounds. The recent repeal of the hated new laws and the resignation of the government may have gone some way towards meeting the Maidan protesters' demands, but have failed to satisfy them.
Euromaidan in Ukraine has produced another protest movement – Automaidan. It has picked up so much speed that the government is doing everything it can to put the brakes on…
27 January, anniversary of the Red Army’s liberation of Auschwitz in 1945, is widely marked as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but Russia pays little attention to it. Why in a country so deeply affected by this genocide, has raising awareness of it been an uphill struggle?
How does one explain Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky’s (MBK) unexpected release from prison? President Putin no longer sees him as a threat? President Putin is losing his grip? No, Operation MBK was a classic power play…
Don't know your Klitschko from your Titushki? Can’t remember which oligarch is which? What or who is a ‘Maidan?’ With our heavyweight guide, you won’t have to buy the next round…
Global attention is focused on Russia’s hosting of the Winter Olympics, a PR coup for President Putin. But all is not well on the economic front and the scenario the Russian government will probably choose going forward is unlikely to be much help.
