Moscow-Ankara Row Dims Luster at Turkic Song Contest
Performers from Russia’s many Turkic-populated regions have their hopes dashed as authorities suspend ties with the contest’s backer. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Kyiv, Rebels Agree New Year Truce
Each side accuses the other of repeatedly breaking the shaky Minsk cease-fire, meant to end a war that has caused more than 9,000 deaths. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Destruction of Donbas Economy Supports Local Russia-Backed ‘Insurgency’
Maksym Bugriy, a research fellow of foreing relations and international security programmes at the Razumkov Centre, and Tetiana Tretiak, an independent Ukrainian political and economical analyst, have contributed to the Eurasia Daily Monitor published by the Jamestown Foundation. …read more Source: Razumkov...
Stalin Center Opens in Russian Provincial City
Local Communists say Soviet model the answer to halting Russia’s economic, moral decline. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Latest from OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine, based on information received as of 19:30hrs, 21 December 2015
This report is for media and the general public. The SMM recorded a low number of ceasefire violations in Donetsk region – mostly around Horlivka – and only one instance in Luhansk region. It experienced no specific freedom-of-movement restrictions during the reporting period. The SMM observed high numbers of people crossing the contact line,...
Russian Activist Jailed for Separatism
Another Kremlin critic is sentenced for attending unsanctioned public events. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
This Religious Calendar is the Cat’s Meow
Some faithful are perplexed, but a Russian Orthodox spokesman says a publication featuring priests and their cats is no ‘big sin.’ From Global Voices. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
‘Russian’ Airstrikes Kill Over 46 in Syria
Attack on rebel-held Idlib coincided with HRW report accusing Russia and embattled President Bashar al-Assad of using banned cluster bombs. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Juncker Proposes Visa-Free Travel for Georgia, Ukraine, Kosovo
Move is a snub to Russia which failed to secure the same benefit – if only for business leaders – even before the Ukraine crisis. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Crimea in Darkness, Part 3
As Crimea’s power supply slowly returns to normal, TOL looks at how people are coping with blackouts and shortages. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
