The Role of Private Military Contractors in Russian Foreign Policy
Private Russian military contractors operate not only in Syria and Ukraine but also in countries where Russian enterprises are investing. Although under Russian law, this type of organisation is prohibited—the State Duma again rejected a bill legalising them—unofficially they enjoy state support because they increase Russia’s military...
Crimean Tatar businessman & philanthropist seized in new FSB offensive in Russian-occupied Crimea
A prominent Crimean Tatar philanthropist and businessman and his sister have been seized after what Crimean Tatar Mejlis leader Refat Chubarov called a ‘”black Thursday’ of armed searches in Russian-occupied Crimea. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
French President Emmanuel Macron (MMF ’06): GMF Alumni Focus on the Future of Democracy
French President Emmanuel Macron (MMF ‘06) charmed both Republicans and Democrats during his official state visit to Washington last week, The Washington Post and numerous other outlets reported. Indeed, Macron has been both hailed and criticized as virtually the sole European leader able to forge good working relations with President Trump. The...
Ukraine’s Democracy Is Approaching ‘Make Or Break’ — And The West Is Missing In Action
Image credit: istockFeaturedvia The Washington PostRussian President Vladimir Putin is waging a global ideological war against Western liberal, democratic values. It has been underway for many years, and it extends from his own immediate neighborhood to Western Europe and, of course, the United States, where he intervened in the U.S. presidential...
Russia Launches First Floating Nuclear Plant
Intended to power a remote Arctic port, vessel sets off amid concern from Baltic countries, environmentalists. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Podcast: What Are the Odds of Nuclear War? A Conversation With Seth Baum and Robert de Neufville
What are the odds of a nuclear war happening this century? And how close have we been to nuclear war in the past? Few academics focus on the probability of nuclear war, but many leading voices like former US Secretary of Defense, William Perry, argue that the threat of nuclear conflict is growing. On this month’s podcast, Ariel spoke with...
Russia Extends Detention for Ukrainian Teen Terror Suspect
Family says Pavlo Hryb was abducted by the Russian FSB when he visited Belarus to meet a Russian girl. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Ukrainian-Belarusian journalist seized in Belarus could face 6-year sentence
38-year-old Dzmitry Halko was arrested on 22 April on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border and is facing charges of ‘attacking a police officer’, with many assuming the arrest to be in fact linked with his role in Belarusian Partisan and other independent Belarusian publications. …read more Source: Kharkiv Human Rights Protection...
Fake News, Moldova-Style
An article last month alleged that the EU was planning to destroy Romanian vineyards, and that the Moldovan ones would be next. From Ziarul de Garda. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Ukrainian Bloggers Launch Bitcoin-Funded Political Party
The self-proclaimed, right-wing liberal party supports changes to land sale and gun laws, and the legalization of same-sex marriage, casinos, cannabis, and prostitution. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
