Opaque Uzbekistan confronts transition anxieties
Whether Islam Karimov, who has ruled Uzbekistan with astounding brutality for the past 27 years, is dead or alive, his era is almost certainly drawing to a close. Two questions… Read more »
Category: Eurasia
Creativity needed in defending, funding civil society
In the wake of the widespread authoritarian crackdown, we are witnessing a confluence of factors affecting the sustainability of different aspects of civil society (its organizations, actors and actions) in… Read more »
West faces ‘new Cold War’ with democracy under threat?
At the moment, the West is clearly losing the ideological battle for democracy, as two major anti-Western threats have emerged, George Mason University professor Jack A. Goldstone writes for World… Read more »
Russia revives dezinformatsiya to weaken rivals
In Crimea, eastern Ukraine and now Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin has flaunted a modernized and more muscular military, The New York Times reports: But he lacks the economic strength… Read more »
Crimean Tatar activist still confined in mental hospital
Leading Crimean Tatar representative Ilmi Umerov has not been released from a mental hospital, his lawyer Mark Feygin said. “Together with Ilmi’s family we came to the hospital. He… Read more »
In Memory of Mikael Danielyan
Democracy advocates are expressing sadness over the passing of Armenian human rights defender Mikael “Mika” Danielyan (left), 57, earlier this week. “A fierce advocate for democracy and human rights in… Read more »
How to Stop Disinformation: Lessons from Ukraine
Information war and next-generation propaganda are among the most important challenges facing the world today, manifesting themselves in different forms in different places notes the latest ‘Beyond Propaganda‘ paper from… Read more »
Another Russia Does Exist
During Vladimir Putin’s tenure, some form of political upheaval has always seemed to precede elections to the State Duma, writes The Power Vertical’s Brian Whitmore: This year’s elections are no exception…. Read more »
Putin’s shrinking circle shows return to Soviet politics
Russia’s president, Vladimir V. Putin, has made no secret of his ambition to restore his country to what he sees as its rightful place among the world’s leading nations…. Read more »
Putin bans 25th anniversary tribute to Soviet coup’s defeat
Russia has banned a 25th-anniversary tribute to the thousands who helped defeat an attempted coup by communist hardliners trying to topple Mikhail Gorbachev, The Times reports: Critics said the order… Read more »