What are the ‘legitimate interests’ justifying Putin’s intervention into Ukraine? The most frequently identified interest is the situation of Russians and Russian-speakers. Is the Russian language really under threat?
4 марта 2014 г исполнялся два года с последних президентских выборов, на которых Владимира Путина в третий раз избрали президентом России. С тех пор он совершенствует свою собственную идеологию. in English
News coverage of the current dramatic situation in Crimea has so far had little to say about the Tatars. Their history has been one of repression and deportation, but they should not be overlooked.
Events in Ukraine have provoked an avalanche of media comment, much of which, though well-intentioned, is not entirely accurate.
Скандал по поводу вопроса, адресованного зрителям практически положил конец работе самого независимого интерет-канала России. Жаль, что вопрос был не тот. in English
A row over a viewer opinion poll has effectively silenced TV Rain, Russia’s most independent TV channel. A pity they asked the wrong question. на русском языке
Most observers thought that any threat to the Sochi Olympics would come from disarray to the east and the south, in the fractious Caucasus. But, as it happened, strife came calling from the West.
Recent US and EU demonstrations of support for democracy in Ukraine are eloquent proof of how political short-term goals keep overriding the need for long-term strategic thinking.
Journalistic speculation about Crimea becoming independent is rife. However, the real dangers lie elsewhere…
Russia’s Meskhetian Turks, exiled from their homeland seventy years ago, have to put up with ignorance, prejudice, discrimination and violence on a regular basis. A travelling exhibition, now in the US, shows pictures of their suffering – past and present.
What’s in a name? President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan was apparently in earnest when he recently suggested changing the name of ‘his’ country. If he gets his way, the domestic and international implications are very real.
President Nazarbayev has turned Kazakhstan into a Central Asian powerhouse. He is 73, and shows no sign of giving up the reins. But there are riches at stake, and people waiting in the wings.
