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Crimea Proves Difficult to Digest

Details: 14 August 2014; Donald N. Jensen

Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in February sparked a conflict between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists that has drawn in the international community. However, while international focus has shifted away from Crimea and toward the ongoing fighting along Ukraine’s border, Russia still faces challenges in integrating Crimea. Donald N. Jensen, resident fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, discusses how Russia has confronted these challenges and the possible consequences of its responses.

Details: Politics

Russia vs. Ukraine: From Destabilization to Separatism

Details: 12 August 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

At the end of July, Vladimir Putin signed a law toughening criminal punishments for calls for separatism. According to writer and analyst Alexander Podrabinek, the Kremlin in this way has revealed its fear that the achievements of the Ukrainian separatists might put in motion potentially threatening mechanisms in Russia.

Details: World

Putin Shows Off in Latin America

Details: 06 August 2014; Donald N. Jensen

Dating back to the Cold War, Russian leaders have at times claimed illness or gone abroad even as they’ve carried out aggressive moves elsewhere. This tradition is alive and well today. As Donald N. Jensen, resident fellow of the Center for Transatlantic Relations, notes, when Russia invaded Georgia in 2008, Putin was in Beijing; and this July, as the Ukraine conflict was escalating, he happened to take a tour to Latin America.

Details: Politics

Crimean Tatars: Back to the Past

Details: 04 August 2014; Alexander Podrabinek

In 1944, on Stalin’s orders, the Crimean Tatar people were deported from Crimea to Central Asia in the space of three days. According to analyst Alexander Podrabinek, seventy years later, the Russian authorities are still putting pressure, if not on the entire Crimean Tatar people, then at least on their most prominent representatives, by banning leaders of the Crimean Tatar assembly (or Mejlis) Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov from entering Russia.

Details: Politics

The MH17 Crash: Putin’s Geopolitical Defeat

Details: 30 July 2014; Tatiana Stanovaya

On July 17, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing-777 was downed over eastern Ukraine, a region controlled by separatists. All 298 people on board were killed. It is still unclear who launched the missile, but the international community has blamed the tragedy on Russia. Political analyst Tatyana Stanovaya discusses the geopolitical consequences of the disaster.

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