How to End the War in Eastern Ukraine
The recent US debate about Russia has focused mainly on Moscow’s disinformation, propaganda, and interference in our elections. But Russia’s aggression against Ukraine remains the original sin and the biggest threat. It’s not just Ukraine’s survival as an independent, democratic state that is on the line, but the future of...
Released Crimean Tatar leader: No ‘liberation’ while my people, my land are not free
There was a sense of Soviet déjà vu in the release of Crimean Tatar leaders Akhtem Chiygoz and Ilmi Umerov, seen in the secrecy with which the special operation was carried out and in the use of a third country. Déjà vu also since just as in the USSR, the number of political prisoners who remain incarcerated is large and on the increase, with...
Luhansk militants sentence 2 young football fans to 17 & 13 years for ’spying for Ukraine’
Two young football fans seized by militants from the self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ [LPR] in October 2016 have been ‘sentenced’ to 17 and 13 years. 21-year-old Vlad Ovcharenko and 20-year-old Artem Akhmerov were accused of spying for Ukraine over protests against the ‘LPR flag’, photos with the national flag...
Twitter Will Suffer for Russian Ad Ban, Moscow Says
Ban on RT and Sputnik comes as researchers claim Twitter ignored evidence that Russia was using the platform to influence elections. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Two Crimean Tatar Leaders Freed
Turkey’s Erdogan and German Chancellor Merkel reportedly helped negotiate the end of Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiygoz’s ordeal. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Russia-gate Breeds ‘Establishment McCarthyism’
In the past, America has witnessed “McCarthyism” from the Right and even complaints from the Right about “McCarthyism of the Left.” But what we are witnessing now amid the Russia-gate frenzy is what might be called “Establishment McCarthyism,” traditional media/political powers demonizing and silencing dissent that questions mainstream...
Space Call: International Space Station Commander talks with Ukrainian experts and students
On October 25, 2017 Commander Randy Bresnik of NASA Expedition 53 shared many interesting details about the ISS with the audience that gathered at the America House Kyiv, including the US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, America House Director Christi Anne Hofland, first astronaut of independent Ukraine Leonid Kadenyuk, co-organizer of...
The High Stakes of Ukraine’s Reform Struggle
It is easy to despair about Ukraine ever reforming and becoming a normal European state. Nevertheless, such despair would be a mistaken response to the flood of stories depicting obstructions to reform—even if they are true. While anyone who has dealt with Ukraine in the last twenty-five years has experienced the frustrations of trying to achieve...
The North Caucasus: Russia’s Soft Underbelly
Summary In last week’s Deep Dive on the South Caucasus, we explained how the region’s unforgiving, mountainous terrain has served as both borderland and battleground for empires. This Deep Dive will focus on the North Caucasus, the relatively flat region above the Greater Caucasus mountain range whose terrain has made it vulnerable to...
Boom and Bust in Belarusian Science & Technology
Private entrepreneurs are the driving force behind the country’s rising IT sector – but could they do it without the state at their back? …read more Source: Transitions Online...
