Poignant proof of why letters to the Kremlin’s Ukrainian hostages matter
There are over forty Crimean political prisoners in Russian-occupied Crimea or Russia, and that figure is rising. Access to information and contact with them is limited, with Russia clearly hoping that people will forget about them. A letter just received from Yevhen Panov makes it quite clear how much our letters mean to the imprisoned men...
Plenary round-up – Strasbourg, October I 2017
Written by Katarzyna Sochacka, EU negotiator Michel Barnier presents the state of play of the Brexit negotiations in plenary. © European Union 2017 – Source : EP The adoption of Parliament’s resolution on the state of play of the Brexit negotiations was one of the main points of the October I plenary session, as was a debate on the...
Blog entry: Political Risks in Ukraine: The Biggest Problems Are Homemade
Der Beitrag Blog entry: Political Risks in Ukraine: The Biggest Problems Are Homemade erschien zuerst auf Competence Center for Black Sea Region Studies. …read more Source: Competence Center for Black Sea Region...
NATO’s Relevance and Europe’s Search for an Alternative
The North Treaty Organization (NATO) came into being to guarantee security to the war-torn Europe after the most devastated war in human history called “World War II.” It was precisely meant for containing “Communist” threat from the former Soviet Union. The “Warsaw Pact” was the response to NATO during the height of cold war by the Soviet...
Kleptocracy Weekly: October 6, 2017
“Kleptocracy is the business model of 21st century authoritarianism.” Charles Davidson, KI’s Executive Director,testified before the Helsinki Commission in Congress this week on how anonymous companies threaten democracy and security. Next week: Join KI and distinguished experts at Hudson Institute on October 11th for the launch of Ilya...
The Russian State’s New Surprising Crusade … Against “Orthodox Extremists”
Society It seems that the Russian state is preparing to get tough on various hardline, fringe followers of the Orthodox Church. Columnists in the opposition media and panic-stricken citizens on social media have already dubbed these Russian citizens “Orthodox extremists” or “new fundamentalists” Alexander Kalinin, for instance, the leader of the...
Ukraine’s Poorly Timed Education Law
Endorsing bilingualism in education would be the inspired and progressive option for the Ukrainian leadership. …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
Inside Tomsk’s Political Machine
The Siberian city’s gubernatorial election, rigged and managed from above, illustrates how the electoral system really works in many Russian regions. From openDemocracy. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Wealth of Ukrainian Security Officers Revealed
The powerful interior minister is also under a spotlight as the authorities open a probe into corruption allegations against him. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
What would it take to trigger war between Russia and NATO? Just a spark
This September in Europe was a tense month of military posturing and preparations. Sweden recently began a three-week war game, its largest since the Cold War. Even as it did so, across the Baltic Sea, Russian and Belarusian forces concluded the Zapad military exercises – which NATO officials called “serious preparations for a big war”. Major war...
