Category: Eurasia

Russia: ‘Foreign Agents’: Mythical Enemies and Society’s Real Losses

     

A leading U.S. Senator is expressing concern over threats to Russia’s civil society, including independent citizen election monitoring group Golos, ahead of Russia’s September 2016 parliamentary elections. “I am deeply concerned… Read more »

China’s hard line a sign of weakness not strength

     

  In an illuminating anecdote that David Shambaugh heard from two Chinese officials who witnessed an encounter between Hu Jintao and Russian leader Vladimir Putin with Beijing’s increasingly harsh scrutiny of… Read more »

Russia’s Road to Terror and Dictatorship

     

In December 2013, David Satter became the first American journalist to be expelled from Russia since the Cold War. The Moscow Times said it was not surprising he was expelled,… Read more »

Nobel Laureate depicts ‘history of the Russian-Soviet soul’

     

A citizen of Belarus who was born in Ukraine and writes in Russian, Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich takes as her subject the “history of the Russian-Soviet soul”, The Times Literary… Read more »

As anti-corruption summit meets, Ukraine moves to keep kleptocracy intact

     

  Ukrainian lawmakers on Thursday appointed a close ally of President Petro Poroshenko with no legal background as general prosecutor, a position seen by the West as crucial for Kiev’s… Read more »

Why political prisoners matter

     

  Today, May 12, marks the 40th anniversary of the Moscow Helsinki Group, a human rights organization created to monitor the Soviet Union’s compliance with the Helsinki Accords, notes Natan… Read more »

From the Bottom, Up: A Strategy to Support Syria’s Opposition

     

As negotiations continue to uphold a teetering ceasefire in Syria, the primary U.S. effort in Syria should be a bottom-up strategy to build cohesive, moderate, armed opposition institutions with a… Read more »

Kleptocracy: the real scandal behind the Panama Papers

     

  A “Kleptocracy Tour” of London’s luxury houses bought by shady international tycoons and officials was set up by anti-corruption campaigner Roman Borisovich, who aims to expose dirty money fueling… Read more »