The link between crime and politics in Crimea has been evident for some time. Now, crime boss Sergei Aksyonov – the ‘Goblin’ – has become its self-declared leader…
As Crimea prepares for its referendum on Sunday, a lesson should perhaps be learned from an earlier, Balkan carve-up.
The Kremlin claims that its every step in Crimea fully complies with international law. But does President Putin understand that, under international law, Ukraine could either arrest or shoot those unmarked troops, as mercenaries or common criminals?
Several months ago the Crimean peninsula seemed to be the safest place in Ukraine, far from the confrontation between Viktor Yanukovych and Maidan. Now Crimea is occupied by an ‘army,’ but whose army is it?
The planned vote to transfer Crimea from Ukraine to Russia will plant the seeds of greater conflict in the peninsula.
Crimea is under the control of Russia’s military forces and its Moscow-backed government is voting to secede from Ukraine. Where might President Vladimir Putin seek territorial expansion next?
Stalin created Ukraine as we know it today. That is why the future of the country, East and West, is stuck in its past – a post-Soviet state unable to escape its history.
For both Moscow and Kyiv, TV is the key to winning the hearts and minds of Ukrainians. But who is winning the ‘information war’?
Browsing the news recently, I read that Ukraine looks to Turkey with regards to the process of joining the European Union. This surprised me at first, given that Turkey'
The eyes of the world may be fixed on Crimea, but back in Kyiv the Maidan isn’t going away and is looking forward to a future mission spreading people’s politics around Ukraine. на русском языке
The dangerous stand-off with Russia over Ukraine is also a display of the west's skewed perceptions and moral vanities.
Despite many weeks and months having passed since protests erupted in Ukraine in late November 2013, the west has continued to act like a passive and awe-struck bystander.
