The Russia Blog
When the Soviet Union collapsed in the early 1990’s, the nations who formed part of that Soviet Empire gradually reclaimed their independence. As such the notion of a USSR successor state is open to interpretation but it is generally recognised by the outside world that the Russian Federation has the best claim to that accolade… Read the rest
Week four of the 2011-2012 European Nations Cup saw wins for Russia, Georgia and, unexpectedly, Spain.
Why do only 10% of Ukrainians have internet access when more than 33% of their Belarussian neighbours have access?
In the New Year’s spirit, I’m going to stick my neck out and predict that the current annual Russo-Ukrainian gas dispute will be resolved by the weekend.
Why? Because there’s nowhere else for either side to go. They’ve both pushed all of their bargaining chips into the middle of the table.
Depending on which… Read the rest
Ah, Christmas. A time for family, opening presents, and eating far too much. Oh, and time for the annual Russo-Ukrainian gas crisis.
In a move that has become almost as traditional as Santa’s squeeze down the chimney, Russia is threatening to cut off Ukraine’s gas supply unless a debt of $2 billion is paid by… Read the rest
The MIT World Policy Journal is celebrating its 25th anniversary by making access to its Fall 2008 journal for free until the end of November.
The 25th anniversary issue looks ahead to the next 25 years and, in Russia’s Rotting Empire, Nina L Khrushcheva (yes – before you ask – she’s Nikita Kruschev’s… Read the rest
In a bit of a shock result, the joint bid from Ukraine and Poland has beaten hot favourites Italy to the right to host the Euro 2012 football tournament.
There had been fears that the current political crisis in Ukraine, combined with a recent Polish match fixing scandal would hurt the two countries’ bid.… Read the rest
The political tensions that have been building in Ukraine over the past year or so may well come to a head over the next few days.
Two rival protests have been organised in Kiev this weekend. One for supporters of embattled President Viktor Yushchenko, the other for supporters of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich.
The protests… Read the rest
Ukraine, after winning the coveted (!) Eurovision Song Contest in 2004, seem to have decided to have a little fun with the event this year. They’ve picked Verka Serdyuchka, a drag queen who pokes fun at Russian women “of a certain age”, as their representative for 2007.
Predictably, everyone’s upset, from Ukrainians, who… Read the rest
The quite excellent Europhobia has also had a re-launch of sorts in the past few weeks. He’s shifted his focus back to broader European issues, resulting in posts like this second-and-a-bit anniversary of the Orange Revolution post. It’s not all doom and gloom, he concludes, but nonetheless:
There are moves afoot
What do you do if you you’ve mined out your salt mine? Why, turn it into a haven for asthma sufferers, of course!
In Soviet times a spell in the salt mines was the fate of dissidents and criminals. But today the glittering tunnels below Solotvyno in western Ukraine have been transformed into a
Ukraine’s President Yushchenko has entirely abolished the country’s traffic police. Yes, that’s right, there are no traffic police on the roads of Kiev today. Konstantin reports:
For what I know from guys at our Kiev office drivers there are speeding, ignore traffic lights and make U-turns wherever they like. It’s a
Despite making the reform of corrupt business and attracting foreign investment central to his public policy pronouncements, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko must be more than a little worried by the economy’s latest growth figures:
Growth in the first six months of this year was 4%, compared with almost 13% in the
Those of you living outside of Europe will probably have never heard of the Eurovision Song Contest, and many of those living in Europe don’t actually care.
A few people do care though – enough to make it the biggest pan-European pop song contest, televised every year at a huge cost to the host… Read the rest
