Staunton, March 26 – By his annexation of Crimea, Vladimir Putin has re-awakened the imperial dimension of Russian messianism, a force that has been contained since 1991 but that now will lead to ever-broader conflicts that will lead either to a Russian victory over all its supposed enemies or the collapse of Russia, Vladimir Pastukhov […]
Staunton, March 24 – Vladimir Putin’s transformation of Russia into a totalitarian, militarist and chauvinist state mean that the Kazan Tatars can see no future for themselves in that country as long as he is its president and is carrying out such policies, according to a declaration of the Millli Mejlis of the Kazan Tatar […]
Staunton, March 24 – Russians must recognize that Vladimir Putin is “an aggressor and instigator of war,” that he is making them into “victims and participants in state crimes,” that he will eventually lose to the democratic world, and that he, they and their country will suffer and be held accountable just as the Germans […]
Staunton, March 21 – Despite the patriotic fervor in Russia, much of it state-sponsored and likely to dissipate quickly, over the annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea, many Russians including those who identify themselves as nationalists and patriots are appalled by what Vladimir Putin has done because they already see clearly the damages arising from his policy. […]
Staunton, March 20 – Xenophobia and hate crimes against members of other ethnic groups, after having declined in Russia between 2009 and 2012, have now risen to unprecedented levels, the result of what many see as the Putin regime’s backing for ethnic Russian pride, according to experts in Moscow. In yesterday’s Yezhednevny Zhurnal, Vera Alperovich says […]
Staunton, March 20 – When Ramzan Kadyrov promised that Chechnya would help rebuild the economy of Crimea after its absorption into the Russian Federation this week, most observers concluded that he was just being his usual flamboyant self. But the truth is more complicated and potentially more disturbing. As journalist Andrey Pertsev points out on […]
Staunton, March 19 – Not surprisingly, many in Russia and the West have focused on Vladimir Putin’s comments about Crimea, Russian military journalist Arkady Babchenko says. But most important words in the Kremlin leader’s remarks are his references to a “certain fifth column” and “various kinds of national traitors.” In a blog post on Ekho […]
Staunton, March 19 – Vladimir Putin’s push to transform Ukraine into a genuinely federal state and his invocation of the state of ethnic Russians as the reason for his intervention in Ukraine is having an impact at home, leading some to ask why federalism should be only “an export good” and others to demand that […]
Staunton, March 19 – Despite Vladimir Putin’s assurance that he won’t seek to absorb more of Ukraine than he has done already, the Kremlin leader almost certainly will continue his offensive approach there and elsewhere lest he look to himself or to his supporters as if he is backing down in the face of international […]
Staunton, March 18 – The two most senior leaders of the Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Cemilev, the former leader of the Mejlis, and Refat Chubarov, the current head of that body, say that many in their nation fear that Moscow will try to deport them from their lands again and insist that they will resist any […]
