Literally one month ago, this author wrote about how those opposed to the protesters in Kyiv’s Independence Square were saying that Chechens were among the protests and how the Russian side would be interested in spreading that rumor (www.jamestown.org/single/article_id=41938&no_cache=1#.UxLlQPQ4sfk). Chechen involvement in Ukraine would have... MORE

On March 6, the Crimean parliament voted in favor of unification with Russia, and declared that a referendum on this decision will be held either on March 15 or March 30 (https://qha.com.ua/iste-kirim-parlamentosu-nun-kararlari-131096tr.html). Crimean Tatars immediately refused to accept this resolution (https://censor.net.ua/video_news/274444/krymskie_tatary_ne_priznayut_referendum_moskovskih_marionetok_glava_medjlisa_video).This news comes a day... MORE

On March 2, Ukrainian interim president Oleksandr Turchynov appointed new heads of state administrations (governors) in several oblasts in eastern and southern Ukraine (Ukraiynska Pravda, March 2, 3). The main cities in Ukraine’s southern and eastern oblasts have most recently experienced pro-Russian, potentially separatist demonstrations,... MORE

In Ukraine’s case, democratic theory was at no time a valid premise for assessing the stability, internal legitimacy, or indeed the logic of the country’s political order. That order functioned to a large extent through informal arrangements among interest groups that coalesced around Ukraine’s “oligarchs”... MORE

After impeaching the fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych on February 22, the new authorities in Kyiv have proceeded to form a new government. The first appointments show that this will be far from the national-unity government advised by the United States and the European Union. The... MORE

“In the event of escalation in Crimea and Ukraine at large,” reads the February 28 editorial statement by Nasha Niva, “Belarus will need national unity and restraint. All the political arguments between the [Belarusian] government and the opposition would be worth putting on the back... MORE

As the crisis in Ukraine unfolds and shows signs of escalation, Western media circles and policymakers appear to be underestimating a number of mysterious elements in Russian security thinking and its military planning and actions. These issues stem from the prolonged silence from Russia’s President... MORE

President Vladimir Putin announced today (March 4) that Russia’s ground troops, deployed across Crimea since March 1, have “reinforced the protection of our installations” (“obiekty”) on that territory of Ukraine. The Russian president’s remarks neither acknowledge nor dispute Ukraine’s sovereignty in Crimea. However, Putin depicted... MORE

The two telephone conversations between United States President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 2 and February 22 marked a dramatic deterioration of relations caused by the near-complete collapse of common ground in managing the crisis in Ukraine. The first discussion about... MORE

As of at least Friday, February 28, unmarked Russian tanks are reportedly moving through the streets of Simferopol, the administrative capital of Crimea (https://guzei.com/online_tv/watch.php?online_tv_id=4919). The crisis situation on this Ukrainian peninsula, populated by majority ethnic Russians, has been escalating for the past several days. On... MORE