Section: Research Organizations & Think Tanks about Ukraine
The ruble currency storm is over, but is the Russian economy ready for the next one?
Recent data show the Russian economy contracted 1.9 percent in the first quarter of 2015. In this article, Sergey Aleksashenko delves into the events that led to the downturn, and what we can expect for the rest of 2015. When the Russian ruble collapsed in mid-December last year, losing one-third of its value in three weeks, some experts...
Ukraine Says Russia Tried to Kill Captured Russian Soldiers
May 18, 2015 …read more Source: Center on Global...
Unsuccessful reforms are a bigger threat to Ukraine than the Russian aggression
Despite the Kremlin’s intervention, Ukrainians elected a new president, Petro Poroshenko, followed by a new parliament with a strong mandate for change. Now frustration is growing about the pace of reform – not only domestically but among the country’s biggest backers abroad. If it isn’t torn apart by war, Ukraine risks slipping...
Protesters Call for Macedonian PM to Quit, Ukraine Bans Soviet Symbols
Plus, Azerbaijan’s capital gets a facelift ahead of the European Games, and gay athletes complain of unsportsmanlike conduct in Kazakhstan’s ‘nontraditional’ sex legislation. …read more Source: Transitions Online...
Merkel Holds the Line Over Eastern Europe
Germany’s role in the Ukraine crisis will influence the EU’s future policy toward Eastern Europe. …read more Source: Carnegie Endowment for International...
New Military Spending Bill Expands Empire But Forbids Debate on War
On Friday the House passed a massive National Defense Authorization for 2016 that will guarantee US involvement in more wars and overseas interventions for years to come. The Republican majority resorted to trickery to evade the meager spending limitations imposed by the 2011 budget control act – limitations that did not, as often reported, cut...
A problematic nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
The year 2015 marks the 45th anniversary of the entry into force of the (Nuclear) Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). This treaty is often referred to as the cornerstone of the global nuclear system and a foundation for the international security environment in which we live. With only four states remaining outside its ambit, the NPT formally retains...
Alberta and the world of oil
Albertans went to the polls on May 5 and elected an NDP government – after 43 years of Progressive Conservative rule. The shock waves reverberate. At the same time, Alberta is experiencing drastically reduced revenue from oil and gas. Under the Progressives Conservatives, a cosy relationship existed between oil companies and provincial...
Working Groups on Ukraine: Tentacles of the Minsk Process
A new format of negotiations between the Ukrainian government and the Moscow-controlled “people’s republics” began operating on May 14 in Minsk (Osce.org, Interfax, Ukrinform, May 14). Four specialized Working Groups have now been launched, with a view to implementing the military, political, economic, and humanitarian clauses of the...
Posthumous Nemtsov Report Declares ‘Putin’s War’
On May 12, friends and supporters of the murdered opposition figure Boris Nemtsov published a report based on his work to uncover Russian military involvement in the war in Ukraine. The Nemtsov report, “Putin. Voina” (Putin. War), offers 64 pages and eleven chapters assessing the conflict, with an initial print run of 2,000. It does not provide...
