Ukrainian political prisoner Volodymyr Balukh released under ‘insane’ house arrest
After being jailed in Russian-occupied Crimea for almost a year on flagrantly falsified charges, Ukrainian activist and farmer Volodymyr Balukh has been placed under house arrest. While Balukh’s elderly mother is, of course, overjoyed, Balukh himself called the ruling ‘insane’, since it prohibits him from leaving the house (or using...
Crimean Tatar political prisoner jailed for Crimea Solidarity named Ukraine’s Volunteer of the Year
One of the Crimea Solidarity activists arrested in Russian-occupied Crimea in October this year has been named Ukraine’s Volunteer of the Year. Marlen (Suleyman) Asanov had long been known for his generosity in helping people in need. When, under Russian occupation, the armed searches and arrests began, he became an active member of Crimea...
European Commission Withholds 600 Million Euros from Ukraine
The European Commission will not transfer the third and last 600 million euro tranche of the current 1.8 billion euro macro-financial assistance programme to Ukraine, approved in 2015. “Four of the measures linked to the third and final tranche of this MFA currently remain outstanding,” a European Commission statement reads. “Against this...
Russian-Indian Defence Co-operation Reaches A Deadlock
Russia / World In the 2000s, Russia began to perceive India as a strategic partner for joint technical military projects. The reason behind Russia’s thinking is clear: India had become the main buyer of Russian arms. The first experience of a project in this area was the joint development of a supersonic cruise missile called BrahMos. Then...
Another Day, Another Tragedy in Crimea
Expand Vedzhie Kashka, August 2017. © 2017 RFE/RL Vedzhie Kashka, 83, is a powerful name in Crimea for her prominent role in the Crimean Tatar national movement and her work to defend rights of Crimean Tatars. She died in Simferopol on November 23, after Russia’s security services (FSB) raided a café where she was meeting …read more...
Muslims Fleeing Ukraine Find Turkish Welcome
Thousands of Meskhetian Turks have been resettled in Turkey, while their hopes of returning to their Georgian homeland still look dim. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Russia vs. Council of Europe
Critics led by Ukraine grind teeth as human rights watchdog’s chief says it should meet Moscow’s demands. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
“100 Crimean Tatar Kids Who Lost Their Fathers”
Expand Statue of a Russian soldier in Simferopol, Crimea. The plaque reads: “To ‘Polite People’ from grateful residents of Crimea.” Local authorities installed the statue in 2016 to mark the events of February 2014, when Russian soldiers without insignia, referred to by local residents as “polite people,” took control over Crimea. © 2017...
There’s nothing green about socialism
Earlier this month, I wrote about the determined efforts of socialists on both sides of the Atlantic to conflate capitalism with racism. No doubt, some promoters of capitalism were racists. But that is hardly surprising, since racism, along with slavery and wanton cruelty, were universal and, until recently, eternal phenomena. The truth is, no...
Facing Russia’s Strategic Challenge: Security Developments from the Baltic to the Black Sea
The EU and NATO are facing an increasingly uncertain and complex situation on their eastern and south-eastern borders. In what the EU has traditionally conceived as its ‘shared neighbourhood’ with Russia and NATO its ‘eastern flank’, Moscow is exhibiting a growingly assertive military posture. The context of the Baltic and the Black...
