Kennan Cable No.25: A Wake-up Call for Ukraine’s Civil Society
When U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson paid his first official visit to Ukraine on 9 July 2017, he met with a small group of Ukrainian civil society activists prior to his meeting with President Poroshenko. The sequence of Tillerson’s conversations in Kyiv was not coincidental. It sent a clear signal: the U.S. government values...
Ukraine’s Independence Day in Russian-occupied Crimea: “You feel the difference between freedom and non-freedom”
‘Only’ two Ukrainian activists were detained in Russian-occupied Crimea on Ukraine’s Independence Day. That, however, was probably because most Ukrainians celebrated the day with family and friends. As one Ukrainian put it, coming out to any kind of event could cost you your liberty. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights...
Watch List: Aug. 24, 2017
The items listed below represent potential emerging issues that our analysts are tracking. These can be long term or short term, but will be updated daily. If an item on our Watch List becomes critical, we will email you a full analysis explaining its significance. Each Saturday, we will follow up our daily Watch List for each week with our...
Russia again flouts European Court to hide Crimean Tatar political prisoner Ruslan Zeytullaev
Ruslan Zeytullaev has, fortunately, ended the hunger strike declared in protest at his increased sentence and the persecution of the Crimean Tatar people, but for a worrying reason. The 31-year-old Crimean Tatar, whose release has been demanded by European bodies as well as human rights NGO’s is being sent thousands of kilometres from his...
Erdoğan’s Turkey: A Step Closer to the Orient
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, photo via Office of the President of RussiaBESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 564, August 20, 2017 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Despite Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s charisma as a politician, he has failed to promote stability in the eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East due to his maximalist ideas. Erdoğan’s negligent...
A Spark in the Dark – Scottish Limited Partnerships and the UK Government’s Faltering Transparency Initiative
The government recently announced new legislation to reveal the beneficial owners of Scottish Limited eartnerships. But this has done little to shed light on the people controlling them. In June 2017, Bellingcat and Transparency International published a joint-report into Scottish Limited Partnerships (“SLPs”) and their increasing rise in...
Kleptocracy Weekly: August 14-18
ICYMI: KI’s Peter Podkopaev and Natalie Duffy examine Russia’s road corruption for Foreign Affairs magazine. Hudson Institute is looking for interns to assist with research projects on Russia and Eastern Europe. U.S. Paul Manafort partnered on an $850 million New York real-estate deal with an ally of Vladimir Putin and a Ukrainian...
When Neutrality Isn’t an Option
The new US sanctions against Russia overwhelmingly passed Congress. But in parts of Europe, they are far less popular. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel last week called them “more than problematic.” In diplomatese, that means the Germans oppose them. The Association of European Businesses, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of European...
Little prospect of regime change in Russia short of a popular uprising – and that’s unlikely
Niocr25/ShutterstockVladimir Putin’s power in Russia can often look unassailable. However much Western media might champion potential opponents, the president maintains a tight grip, and it’s easy to see why. Any successor to Putin who was not a puppet would very likely seek to establish their anti-corruption credentials and...
Three risks and three scenarios for Ukraine
Between 2014 and 2017, Ukraine’s leadership failed to transform the country’s old post-Soviet Russia oligarchic system into a European and Western-style democracy. The transformation is inefficient and slow, and this entails risk, writes Roman Rukomeda. …read more Source:...
