A New Great Game?
Ukraine has become a battleground for western influence and Vladimir Putin’s dream of an expanded Russian sphere of influence Read Here – DNA
Tag: Ukraine
Turmoil Born Of History
Differences among Ukrainians over their world view have been increasingly exposed since the 2004-05 Orange Revolution tilted policy westward for the first time since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. This goes back generations Read Here – Reuters
It’s The Economy, Stupid
As a fiscally constrained and war-weary Washington confronts its foreign policy challenges, events in Ukraine and Afghanistan show that economic incentives can play a major role in addressing them. Read Here – The Atlantic
Russia’s Post-Soviet Grandmaster
What changed Putin’s largely positive attitude toward the United States were the “color revolutions” in Ukraine, Georgia, and Kyrgyzstan, which he saw as U.S. actions to displace Russia from its “zones of interests,” at best, or, at worst, as a dress rehearsal for a regime change in Russia itself. Putin then changed tack and left […]
How Putin Is Turning Russia Into One Big Enron
In a few quick decisions, President Vladimir Putin has devastated Russia’s energy policy. This daring radical change of strategy will primarily hit state revenues. The essence of these policy changes is renationalization, a massive increase in capital expenditure and reduced efficiency. For years,Gazprom has carried out too large capital expenditures, 70 percent of which investment analysts euphemistically with call “value detraction,” which really means corruption or […]
President Yanukovych’s Party Claims Win In Ukraine Elections
The party of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych has claimed victory in a closely fought parliamentary election. Officials from the Party of Regions said the result showed Ukrainians had confidence in their leader. Partial exit polls suggested Mr Yanukovych’s party had gained the most votes, but opposition parties did better than expected. Thousands of observers are in Ukraine […]
The Razvozzhayev Abduction: From Scandal to Crisis in Russia
Remember Aleksandr Bastrykin’s “forest scandal“? In light of the horrors Leonid Razvozzhayev says he endured, merely hauling a journalist out into the woods and threatening his life looks positively quaint. Bastrykin has managed to survive — and indeed thrive — amid not just the forest incident, but also the revelations about his unreported properties and business dealings in Europe. And his sharp […]
How Yanukovych Turned Tycoons Into Enemies
Ukraine‘s parliamentary election on Sunday will be neither free nor fair. After eight unproductive years since the 2004 Orange Revolution, the democratic opposition is depressed and demoralized. Even so, the elections may check President Viktor Yanukovych‘s power. Yanukovych came to power in February 2010 in elections that were rated free and fair. This was a time when Freedom House still ranked Ukraine as democratic. But Yanukovych […]
