Built on a series of spits and peninsulas, the Ukrainian city of Mykolayiv feels surrounded by water. It is here that in 1789, Russian Prince Gregory Potemkin built the shipyards that would repair Russian Empire ships fighting the Ottoman Empire, shipyards that remained of such importance that the city was closed to foreigners for most of the Soviet period.City politics had never been terribly active or competitive. Local bosses controlled the electoral process and citizens were often in the position of choosing between two evils. In both the 2005 and 2010 elections, the city and the surrounding region voted for …read more
Source: Atlantic Council
