Lots of internet chatter recently, and especially this week, about media control and manipulation. In Russia since late last year there have been increasing restrictions on media outlets and media content. The Voice of Russia (formerly Radio Moscow) ended broadcasts this week and liberal leaning RIA Novosti was absorbed by RT in December of last…
The crisis in Ukraine has dominated world headlines for the past few months, and for good reason. The political and social upheaval in the country featured a diverse and dramatic cast- Viktor Yanukovych as the fatuous, corrupt villain, Yulia Tymoshenko, the freed princess of the Orange Revolution, Vitaly Klitschko, the handsome, commanding pugilist, and a…
The phrase “Russian spy” evokes classic images of the Cold War—the days when Bert the Turtle flickered across gleaming American televisions, men in Chesterfield overcoats pretended to be diplomats, dark meeting rooms were filled with nail-darted leather chairs, State Department officials swapped briefcases in an alley during the blink of an onlooker’s eye, conference rooms…
Prevailing thought from scholars, policy makers, and international affairs enthusiasts alike is that Russian influence and importance is waning in the world. While Moscow might not have the “superpower” status of the Soviet Union any longer, it is still a force to be reckoned with on the international stage. Although the emphasis is on the…
Other than the repeated denunciations of the west aggravating the situation by a coterie of Russian government officials (Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu dismissed claims that Russian troops were in Crimea as an “act of provocation” and “utter nonsense”), one would be hard pressed to find any serious commentator still denying that the troops blockading Ukrainian…
Russian state-controlled natural gas producer Gazprom supplied the European Union and Turkey with a record-setting volume of gas in 2013, 162 billion cubic meters, of which roughly 50 percent travelled through Ukraine via pipeline. As geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to escalate, Republican leaders in the U.S. have been quick to criticize President…
In November 2013, President Putin authorized a working group under the supervision of academician Alexander Chubaryan, Director of the Institute of World History, to unveil a new concept of history teaching in Russian schools, according to which the assessment of historical facts has to become objective and unified. According to Putin, most of the textbooks…
Perhaps the passing of Valery Kubasov, a Russian astronaut “who pioneered international cooperation in space when he joined with a fellow cosmonaut in the linkup of Soviet and American spaceships,” on February 19, 2014 was an indication to the end of cooperation between the two countries, which now has become a major geopolitical preponderance between…
A slow simmering conflict has festered just below the surface in Ukraine for some time, as deeply divided citizens and political parties weighed whether the country should align itself with the European Union and the United States or remain closely tied to Russia. Three months ago, these groups began to clash in protests that quickly…
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