Staunton, January 23 – The recent statement by Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peshkov, that “there are things more important than laws” is the latest sign of a fundamental shift in Russian governance from the dictatorship of laws that Putin promised when he came to office to a dictatorship of morality resembling the situation in […]
Staunton, January 19 – Twenty-five years ago today, on Mikhail Gorbachev’s order, Soviet troops invaded the Azerbaijani capital of Baku by land, sea and air, killing hundreds and enflaming ethnic hatreds, in an action the Soviet president five years after the events acknowledged was “the greatest mistake” of his political career. That event, known to […]
October 8, 2014, Vienna – On October 1, the Iranian government held its annual “New Horizon” conference, hosting more than thirty participants to discuss the “Zionist 9/11 Conspiracy” and “Israel Lobbying” in different countries. While the anti-Semitic nature of this annual conference is nothing new, it was “surprising” to see several participants of the conference […]
Staunton, May 26 – Russia faces a relatively limited choice about the direction it will follow, Vladimir Pastukhov argues. A liberal democratic scenario at this stage need not be considered. Instead, the country will choose among a national theocracy, a civil police state or “the imitation of statehood” altogether. In an essay on Polit.ru yesterday, […]
Obviously, the world will never be the same after the events in the Crimea. By its unprecedented actions, in terms of international norms, Russia is forcing the West to make a decision – to accept it into the club of developed nations as an equal member, or push it away for once and for all, […]
Staunton, March 25 – The Kremlin’s anti-Western mythology is now so widespread that many in Moscow and some in the West accept it as a given and fail to understand how it reflects a specific political program and how dangerous and self-destructive it is for those who are putting it about, according to Vladimir Milov. […]
Staunton, March 21 – Yana Amelina, a well-connected Russian analyst, says that Moscow’s annexation of Crimea is “a precedent for South Ossetia and the entire post-Soviet space,” the most expansive Russian interpretation yet of what Putin intends and an indication that the breakaway republic in Georgia is now in the Kremlin’s crosshairs. In two articles […]
The Geneva II conference on Syria starts this week. The Syrian National Coalition, the internationally recognized opposition group, has decided that it will attend. The SNC also indicated last week that hopes for success were slim. But those hopes have now fallen to zero. This is not my wish, nor my opinion, but the only […]
Every Wednesday, The Interpreter’s managing editor James Miller will be speaking with Dr. Matt Sienkiewicz, a professor at Boston College, about the major headlines of the week. If you have questions you’d like Matt to address in future episodes, feel free to tweet to him: @mediastudied. If you have feedback on the content feel free to tweet to James: @MillerMENA. […]
This analysis appeared in Ekho Moskvy, traditionally a more liberal outlet that often criticizes Putin. Though long, it is a fascinating analysis of the dynamic between Putin, Obama, and Assad, and argues that Putin, like “The Godfather,” manipulated the situation in order to come out on top. – Ed. “I read in his face a […]
