Dictatorland: Kazakhstan
(BBC) In this episode, Ben Zand travels to Kazakhstan to experience the sinister and at times bizarre side to living in a dictatorship. Beginning his journey in the capital city…
Belarus: Ambivalent and Changing [VIDEO]
(Point & Counterpoint) Arkady Moshes explains Belarus’s geopolitical status and its relations with Ukraine and Russia. Arkady Moshes is the director of the EU Eastern Neighbourhood and Russia Research Programme at the Finnish Institute…
Roberts: The Chinese state needs to be in complete control [in Xinjiang] and so they just keep hammering the nail harder
(CSM) The Pakistani businessman braved the rugged Karakoram Highway, crossed the freezing Khunjerab Pass, and spent an hour undergoing security at China’s border to reach the city of Kashgar, in…
Winter, Go Away!
(THE ORCHARD) This is the film, which the famous Pussy Riot church scene is taken from. WINTER, GO AWAY! was filmed by the graduates of Marina Razbezhkina and Mikhail Ugarov’s…
Grassroots Modernization
(Point & Counterpoint) (By Maria Lipman & Maria Volkenstein) The rise of diversity and individualism in Russian society is undisputed. However, these new trends are observed, first and foremost, in the private…
The Politics of International Interaction with de facto States: Conceptualising Engagement without Recognition
(Routledge) (Edited by Eiki Berg and James Ker-Lindsay) This comprehensive volume is the first systematic effort to explore the ways in which recognised states and international organisations interact with secessionist ‘de facto states’, while…
As Russia’s economy falters, what are Putin’s options?
(IISS) Having signed on for another six years of Putin, are Russians feeling a bit of buyer’s remorse? His options for tackling the country’s stagnation are limited, and none of them…
ASEEES Panel Statement About the Release of Matthew Hedges
Robert Orttung, the chair of the panel, “Islamic Politics in the North Caucasus: Regional Diversification, Diaspora, and Secular Intervention,” at the 2018 ASEEES Annual Convention, Boston, MA, made a statement,…
Martial Law and Presidential Powers in Ukraine
(Presidential Power) Since November 28, 2018 ten oblasts (provinces) in Ukraine have been operating under the provisions of the ‘martial law.’ President Petro Poroshenko introduced it in response to violent seizure…
Isolation and Reconquista: Russia’s Toolkit as a Constrained Great Power
(Russia Matters) In 2007, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s famous Munich speech took stock of what Russia considered the failure of the post-Cold War détente with the West, specifically NATO’s eastward expansion…
Majlis Podcast with Sean Roberts: The Repercussions Of Beijing’s Policies In Xinjiang
(RFE/RL) China’s campaign against Uyghur nationalism, branded by Beijing as separatism, has abruptly spiked in the last two years and spread beyond just the Uyghurs. […] On this week’s Majlis podcat,…
Narva as a Cultural Borderland: Estonian, European, Russophone
(RAD) Abstract: Looking at Narva, the Estonian city with strong Russian roots, through the lens of culture allows us to see it less as a threat and more as an opportunity. Current…