Today, September 17, at 4:00 pm EST the Institute for Modern Russia and the Atlantic Council will co-host the presentation of a new report from The Interpreter titled An Invasion by Any Other Name: The Kremlin’s Dirty War in Ukraine prepared by the Liveblog Team. Livestreaming of the presentation can be seen here. A PDF […]
Tag: Eastern Ukraine
Are Russia’s Failed Statelets in Eastern Ukraine Safe Havens for Terrorists?
Staunton, April 10 – A great deal of attention has been given to Chechens, Buryats and other non-Russians going to the Donbass to fight for the pro-Moscow “peoples republics” there, a flow that Russian propagandists have played up as evidence that support for Vladimir Putin’s “Russian world” is broader than just among ethnic Russians. But […]
Ukraine Divided Less Between East And West Than Between City And Village
Staunton, March 13 — Most discussions about divisions in Ukraine focus either on the differences of east and west or on those between Russian speakers and Ukrainian speakers, but a deeper and more important divide, one cutting across both of the others, Sergey Koshman writes, is between those who live in the cities and those […]
Can Moscow Avoid ‘Losing’ Siberia to China As Ukraine Is Losing Its East to Russia? Military Writer Asks
Staunton, September 23 – Sometimes the fact that someone is asking a question at all is more important than the answer he or she offers. That is almost certainly the case with a new article by an anonymous Russian military commentator concerning whether or not Russia can avoid “losing Siberia and the Far East” to […]
Russia’s War Aims in Ukraine Are Complete Control over Kiev, Zatulin Says
Staunton, September 12 – Konstantin Zatulin, the director of the Russian Institute for CIS Countries, has bluntly described Moscow’s war aims in Ukraine as directed toward the establishment of complete control over Ukraine’s foreign and domestic policies and a privileged position in that country for the Russian language and the Moscow Patriarchate. Speaking in Sevastopol […]
Putin’s Victory in Ukraine a ‘Pyrrhic’ One, Moscow Economist Says
Staunton, September 6 – That Vladimir Putin has won another round in his invasion of Ukraine seems clear: he has forced Kiev to reach agreements with Moscow-backed secessionists, he has effectively taken his Anschluss of Crimea off the table of discussion, and he has further undermined Western unity concerning the imposition of sanctions. In all […]
Russian Neo-Nazis Fighting for Moscow in Ukraine, Ukrainian Jewish Leader Says
Staunton, August 30 – Iosif Zisels, the head of Vaad Ukrainy, the Association of Jewish Organizations and Communities of Ukraine, says that neo-Nazi organizations from Russia” are taking an active role in the pro-Moscow forces in eastern Ukraine, a reflection of the fact that “Russia is infected with the ideas of revanchism, which is very […]
Will Russia Invade Ukraine? Interpreter Podcast – August 7, 2014
This week on The Interpreter podcast Boston College Professor Matt Sienkiewicz and The Interpreter’s managing editor James Miller are joined by The Interpreter’s editor-in-chief Michael Weiss to discuss the latest news from Ukraine. The key questions on everyone’s mind — will Russia invade Ukraine? What is Russia’s end game here? Why is Putin doing what […]
Russia Against the World: Igor Strelkov’s Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Igor Strelkov (aslo known as Igor Girkin) is the leader of the pro-Russian rebels in East Ukraine, who he has been suspected of being responsible for the downing of MH17 and of ordering mass executions in Slavyansk. His work for the Russian military intelligence (GRU) has been well documented, and the media has been keen […]
Moscow Using Refugees from Ukraine to Shift Ethnic Balance in Non-Russian Republics
Staunton, July 31 – Moscow is directing predominantly ethnic Russian refugees from the fighting in southeastern Ukraine into non-Russian republics of the Russian Federation in a transparent effort to change the ethnic balance in those republics and further Russianize them, according to Marat Kulsharipov, a historian at Bashkortostan State University. In an interview to RFE/RL’s […]