The Forgotten Famine of 1946-1948
The Soviet Union emerged from the world’s bloodiest conflict victorious, but at great cost. Twenty million Soviet citizens died during World War II, including 35 percent of men between 18 and 30. More than 20 percent of the population was homeless. And the material damage done by the war was on the order of 20 times the entire prewar annual...
Russia Puts Squeeze on Soccer Hooligans
Authorities are cracking down on hardcore fans weeks before a curtain-raiser to the 2018 World Cup. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Putin Assures South Ossetia of Full Support
The new leader of the South Caucasus breakaway state gets the only endorsement that matters. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Russia breaches international law forcing Crimeans to serve in occupying army
Nearly 5 thousand young Crimeans are to be conscripted into Russia’s army in 2017, with Russia thus openly flouting the UN General Assembly and the Fourth Geneva Convention. For the first time since Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, Crimeans will be sent to regions of the Russian Federation …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights...
Kremlin-backed Donbas militants accuse Ukraine and USA of ‘terrorist’ killings
The self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ [DPR] and Russian media have given wide coverage to militant claims that the head of Ukraine’s counter-intelligence service was behind the killing of prominent militants, with US involvement also stressed …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Moldovan, Ukrainian Authorities Say Murder Plot Targeted Moldovan Politician
Seventeen people, including two connected to the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, were detained for allegedly planning to kill Vladimir Plahotniuc. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Russia turns to closed courts for political prisoners in occupied Crimea
Courts in Russian-occupied Crimea have now begun banning relatives and friends from attending court hearings – the only chance many have of seeing the imprisoned men. Most incredibly, the FSB has now told a court that the men should remain in custody as they are recognized internationally as political prisoners! …read more Source: Kharkiv...
Another Dangerous Rush to Judgment in Syria
With the latest hasty judgment about Tuesday’s poison-gas deaths in a rebel-held area of northern Syria, the mainstream U.S. news media once more reveals itself to be a threat to responsible journalism and to the future of humanity. Again, we see the troubling pattern of verdict first, investigation later, even when that behavior can lead...
Sanktionen als Dauerzustand?
Sanktionen scheinen zum Dauerzustand in den Beziehungen zwischen der EU und Russland geworden zu sein. Sie haben zur Eindämmung des Krieges im Donbas beigetragen, sind aber nicht geeignet, die Rückgabe der Krim an die Ukraine und die Umsetzung der Minsker Vereinbarungen zu erzwingen. Der EU-Sanktionskonsens ist 2017 weniger stabil als zuvor....
Round-Up of Investment Arbitrations Against CIS States: Recent Developments
In the December 2016 – March 2017 period, some major procedural developments occurred in several pending and concluded investment arbitrations against CIS states. In some of these pending disputes, arbitral tribunals have asserted jurisdiction over the investors’ claims, addressing noteworthy issues such as: provisional application of the...
