Latest Articles about Domestic/Social
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What to Expect From Petro Poroshenko in National Security?
The swift and overwhelming victory of Petro Poroshenko in the May 25 Ukrainian presidential elections (ITAR-TASS, May 25) raises questions about the new president’s security policy. In fact, he now faces multiple national security challenges:• Insurgency in the east supported by Russia and some local... MORE
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Police in Stavropol Push Muslims Toward Radicalism
Russia is an extremely diverse country, but unlike in the United States, legislation is uniform across its entire territory. In the Russian Federation, the distinct features of regions and ethnic differences are often ignored. Nevertheless, Moscow treats different regions quite differently in terms of its... MORE
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Russia Forces Crimea to Switch From Hryvna to Ruble Ahead of Schedule
Amongst the many complexities of integrating Crimea into Russia, problems regarding the currency and the scheduling of local elections remain at the top. On May 14, the lower house of the Russian parliament (the State Duma) adopted a resolution officially scheduling the local legislative elections... MORE
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Will Crimean Tatar Jihadists Join Forces With the Caucasus Emirate?
As the Crimean Tatars commemorated the 70th anniversary of their deportation from Crimea on May 18, many wondered what the Tatars’ next moves under the Russian occupation will be. Having already deported ethnic groups en masse—the Karachays in November 1943, the Chechens and Ingush in... MORE
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Secessionists on Collision Course With Akhmetov in Donbas
Ukraine’s wealthiest industrialist, Donetsk-based Renat Akhmetov, on May 20, urged the workers of Donbas to protest against “those who call themselves some kind of people’s republic of Donetsk [secessionist leaders].” In a televised address via the Ukrayina channel, Akhmetov declared that the region’s population “can... MORE
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Belarus: National Identity and Schengen Visas
Understanding the nuances of ethnic and national identity in faraway countries is arguably the Achilles’s heel of Western foreign policy making. This is regrettable considering that such nuances have powerful influence on international crises and on shaping their outcomes. This was the case in Iraq,... MORE
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Russian Activists Complain About the Tatarization of Tatarstan
The World Forum of Tatar Youth recently staged a game called “Tatar Watch” in Kazan, the capital of the Russian Middle Volga republic of Tatarstan. The “Tatar patrols,” as they called themselves, went around the city in groups of seven people, wearing T-shirts that said... MORE
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Ukrainian Businessmen Support Paramilitary Units in State Service
Ukrainian forces are struggling to contain Russia’s proxy insurgency in Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk provinces). The Ukrainian “anti-terrorist operation,” under way since April 13, remains inconclusive thus far. This operation has revealed how deeply Ukraine’s army and police were hollowed out in recent years, materially... MORE
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Russian Authorities’ Mild Reaction to Killing of a Circassian Sparks Protests
On May 13, a 25-year-old Circassian, Timur Ashinov, died in the hospital in the city of Adygeisk in the Republic of Adygea. Ashinov and a fellow Circassian were attacked by a mob at a pizzeria in the nearby city of Krasnodar in Krasnodar region on... MORE
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Appointment of General Melikov to Replace Khloponin Points to Kremlin Bid to Subdue Dagestani Insurgency
Alexander Khloponin’s resignation as the Russian president’s representative in the North Caucasus Federal District could not have surprised anyone who has followed developments in that region. Analysts anticipated the resignation of Moscow’s envoy for the past two years, when it became apparent that the project... MORE