World War Two didn’t end in Ukraine in 1945. After the devastation of German occupation, which left the country in ruins and millions dead, Ukrainian nationalists continued to murder thousands of Jews…
On message: a pro-Russian newspaper in Simferopol, Crimea.
EPA/Yuri Kochetkov
Facebook can be a confusing place. For the follower of Ukrainian and Russian politics the messages could not be more different. At the same time that “Euromaidan PR” is posting pictures of “Putler” and…
Russia’s economy is more rusty than people realise.
Johan Viirok
No amount of international sanctions will reverse Russia’s takeover of Crimea. But unless Vladimir Putin can now extend his influence over eastern Ukraine, the incomplete triumph could undermine him. If…
Too close for comfort? Narva Bridge on Estonia’s Russian border
Hannu
The Russian invasion and rapid absorption of the Crimean peninsula might seem like the spark ready to ignite a new Cold War. In fact, given the feeble Western response so far, the more likely outcome is…
Will the global community definitively stigmatise Russia as an international pariah until it renounces the use of force to challenge a UN member’s territorial integrity?
EPA/Alexey Nikolsky
The international community has been impotent since Russia responded to the November 2013 Ukraine crisis with force, culminating in annexation of the Ukrainian territory of Crimea this month. The G7’s…
The rapid escalation of the situation in Crimea has led us faster than we might have thought to consider if and how Russia might unleash energy policy as part of its geopolitical strategy. President Vladimir…
Demonstrators clash with police in Caracas, Venezuela, where violent street protests have raged for weeks.
EPA/Santi Donaire
A wave of street protests, some violent, has been sweeping Venezuela. These attracted international media coverage, which often presented protests as the expression of a national crisis that anticipated…
Standing guard. Police at the Regional administration building in Donetsk, Ukraine.
PHOTOMIG/EPA
Now that Ukraine has lost Crimea, which seems certain to be reunited with the Russian Federation, the future of the remainder of the country depends on what happens in the urban, industrial and populous…
Information is power in modern statecraft.
EPA/Yuri Kochetkov
“In the information age, success is not merely the result of whose army wins, but also of whose story wins.” The words of Harvard scholar Joseph Nye have been borne out in Ukraine. At the moment, the Moscow…
Jubiliation in Crimea - but what comes next for Ukraine?
Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has now apparently formalised the annexation by announcing two new laws that make Crimea and Sevastopol subjects of the Russian Federation and has signed a treaty to…
Trust between Vladimir Putin and Gerhard Schröder helped lubricate the Nord Stream deal.
EPA Pool/Yuri Kadobnov
Much of the discussion on the current Ukraine crisis concerns European energy security and dependence on Russian gas. The different reactions of EU member states to the Ukraine crisis highlight an underlying…
Triumph or charade: pro-Russian supporters celebrate in Simferopol. EPA/Yuri Kochetkov.
Crimeans have voted by a huge margin to secede from Ukraine. According to early reports released after 50% of the ballots had been counted more than 95% of votes were in favour of joining Russia. EU foreign…
Crimean referendum campaign posters in Sevastopol.
EPA/Zurab Kurtsikidze
The Crimean crisis is sliding from bad to worse, not least for the inhabitants of what until a month ago was an idyllic peninsula waiting for the glory of springtime. As the ultra-right and neo-Nazi thuggery…
In post-Soviet Russia, orange and black are the new black.
RIA Novosti
Many of the images of pro-Russian demonstrators in Ukraine, from Crimea to Donetsk, have shown them wearing black-and-orange-striped ribbons. The symbolism here is opaque to most Western observers, it…
A tent camp of protesters in downtown Kiev.
Laszlo Beliczay/EPA
As 16,000 pro-Russian troops swept through Crimea, seizing control of its key sites, murmurings about a new Cold War have followed hard on their heels. Whether or not invoking that label is anachronistic…
Russia keeps its secrets under its hat, but cyber war’s nothing new.
San Diego Shooter/Flickr
In a war – declared or otherwise – bravery and perseverance are not enough. Communications are important. Effectiveness means being able to command your troops and gather information. It also means being…
For the future of Crimea: pro-Russia supporters rally.
EPA/Artur Shvarts
We believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow…
As the world waits to hear what turn the Ukraine crisis takes next, it is wise for business leaders to stop and think about the questions raised by this unexpected clash of great powers. Some will worry…
For a TV network which wants to become a household name to millions around the world, Russia Today has certainly generated a lot of publicity in recent days as it broadcasts about the political crisis…
The war at home: a rally in Moscow for the people of Crimea.
EPA/Yuri Kochetkov
The incursion into Ukraine by Russian forces, ostensibly in the name of “protecting” the Russian population of Crimea from harassment and violence at the hands of ethnic Ukrainians, is a classic case of…