Ukraine’s Government seeks to legalize illegal Security Service detention prisons
The Cabinet of Ministers has tabled a draft bill which acknowledges the long-denied existence of SBU [Security Service] detention facilities and proposes amendments to legislation in order to formally allow them. Legal may be preferable to illegal, however removing the possibility of abuse by the Security Service would be better still …read...
Continuing the Euromaidan through Healthcare Reform: A Conversation with Ukraine’s Minister of Health
Ukraine’s Minister of Health Ulana Suprun believes the key to combatting corruption lies in the resolution of issues plaguing the medical system. Join us for a discussion about the vital role healthcare plays in the national security of Ukraine and the sweeping package of healthcare reforms currently before the Verkhovna Rada. Minister...
After Crimea, a Changing Landscape in Russian Anti-Extremism Policy
In the years following Russia’s annexation of Crimea, the state’s turn towards nationalist ideology, based on traditional values, has shaped the formation and enforcement of anti-extremism policies. The move away from state secularism has led to the introduction of explicitly ideological articles into the criminal code. The...
Ukraine Lawmakers Back NATO Membership
Vote angers the Kremlin, which faces allegations of meddling in two Balkan countries to derail their NATO bids. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Russian Police Arrest St. Petersburg Scientologists
Charges of extremism and inciting hatred echo those levelled at the recently banned Jehovah’s Witnesses. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
The White Stream Pipeline Project: Transcaspian Energy for the European Union
White Stream is a proposed pipeline network designed to transfer natural gas from Azerbaijan to Europe through Georgia and Ukraine. Eastern members of the European Union should consider pursuing the full development of the White Stream pipeline network as an alternative to Russian natural gas imports. …read more Source: Atlantic...
A Manhunt, A Typo, And Alleged Torture: Russian MMA Fighter Battles Chechnya’s Grip
Murad Amriyev, a 32-year-old MMA fighter from the southern Russian region ruled by Kremlin-backed strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, was facing deportation from Belarus on June 8, a transfer that rights activists say would place his life and well-being at risk. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
‘My Dreams Are Not Related to Literature’
Andrey Kurkov – Ukraine’s best-known writer – speaks up about Ukrainians learning to become European, on Ukraine’s multilingualism, and on why life does not always follow the logic of literature. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
“Ideas Worth Fighting For”: A Conversation with Janis Rozkalns
My primary motivation for meeting with Janis Rozkalns was to ask him “why?” Rozkalns received Latvia’s highest honor, the Order of the Three Stars, for running one of the Soviet Union’s largest anti-communist groups during the 70s and 80s. Why did he resist the Soviet occupation? Why did he illegally print and distribute religious...
Russian Court Convicts Ukrainian Librarian of Inciting Hatred
Natalia Sharina spent 15 months under house arrest while awaiting trial for possessing banned books. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
