Somali pirates are truly on rampage now. After capturing in September this year an Ukrainian vessel Faina- loaded with military hardware worth $30 million consisting of Russian T72 battle tanks, grenade launchers and piles of ammunition meant for Kenya- they have, in yet another daring hijack on Saturday night (15th Nov’08), grabbed their biggest ever catch, […]
Let’s Avoid a Second Crimean War
Historians will look back at the Bush Administration and recognize the resurgence of The Russian Federation as the major geopolitical shift that took place on its watch. 9/11 and the War on Terror will look like side-shows through the lens of the future. When George W. Bush took office in 2000, The Russian Federation was emerging […]
Unilateral Recognition of Abkhazia’s and South Ossetia’s Independence
Russia has formally recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia today. Below are some of the initial reactions from LiveJournal’s Cyrillic sector. Russian LJ user sholademi (Samson Sholademi) writes (RUS): […] Now the most interesting part begins… P.S. The line has been crossed, sort of. Though, in the past two weeks, since the beginning of the war in Georgia, everything […]
South Ossetian War – What’s Next?
Posted by Veronica Khokhlova to Global Voices Online Russian president Dmitry Medvedev announced the end of the so-called “peace enforcement” operation yesterday. LJ user varfolomeev66 – Radio Echo of Moscow journalist Vladimir Varfolomeev – asked this question on his blog: “What’s next?” He wrote (RUS): I’m not referring to Georgia now. The Russian government has […]
NATO Enlargement and Russia’s ‘Security Concerns’
There have been extensive discussions about the next phase of NATO enlargement to the east and Russia’s right to defend its interests on its borders. However, little or no attention has been paid to factors forcing former Soviet republics, particularly Georgia and Ukraine, to rush to join the alliance. Russian political mentality has […]
Russia and Ukraine Spar Over Words
Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov was declared persona non grata in Ukraine earlier this month on 12 May, following his calls for Russia to take ownership of Sevastopol, a Ukrainian Black Sea naval port. (For earlier coverage in original text from Global Voices, click here and here). On May 15, Russia denied entry to Vladyslav Kaskiv, […]