All features
-
Four setbacks to Western credibility in Ukraine (Part 1)Within the last three weeks, a series of decisions by leading Western powers seem to indicate a downgrading of Ukraine on the scale of Western policy priorities. Taken partly in... -
Do this to hit Lukashenka’s regime, say Belarusian activists (spoiler: it’s not banning flights)The wave of flight bans with which the EU and Ukraine have retaliated against Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka kidnapping an opposition journalist in mid-air is but "flightwashing," warn Belarusian activists.... -
How a free-spirited country girl from Ukraine became an intrepid adventuress & 1930s travel blogger“In my travels, from land to land, I never encountered the paradise I had hoped for. But sometimes, at least, I captured a few glimpses of earthly happiness..."" -
Russia’s Tatarstan to have a Muslim holiday in memory of those who fell fighting Ivan the Terrible in 1552During Russian Imperial and Soviet times, Tatarstan's capital of Kazan marked the anniversary of the occupation of Kazan by the forces of tsar Ivan the Terrible in various ways, including... -
Ukraine’s new naval doctrine: a revision of the mosquito fleet strategy or bureaucratic inconsistency?For Ukraine, which lost more than 70 percent of its naval assets after Russia’s forcible annexation of Crimea, the ability to effectively deter and adequately respond to further aggressive Russian... -
Russian propaganda denigrating Belarusian dissident Pratasevich kidnapped by LukashenkaThe pro-Kremlin ecosystem has established its talking points on Lukashenka’s act of, in the words of the CEO of Ryanair, “state-sponsored piracy”. All the Kremlin-controlled media outlets repeat the same... -
Moscow moves from justifying GULAG to glorifying itNow that Russian officials are proposing to use prison labor for economic projects, a Novosti journalist has countered charges that this constitutes the restoration of Stalin’s GULAG by arguing that... -
Belarus kidnapping: what international law says about capture of dissident journalist Roman ProtasevichHere’s what we know: the Ryanair aircraft carrying dissident Belarusian journalist Roman Protasevich was scheduled to fly from Athens in Greece to Vilnius in Lithuania on May 23. While in... -
Discover Belarus, “the country of nine million hostages,” with Belarusian writer Andrei KhadanovichWhat is Belarus? What is the Belarusian language and culture? What is the centrepoint in Belarusian history? Why did President Alyaksandr Lukashenka come to power? How do the Belarusian... -
State support for grassroots projects triggers tectonic changes in Ukrainian cultureAfter long years of Soviet oppression and neglect by various governments, tectonic changes are underway in Ukrainian culture. Grassroots cultural initiatives are starting to receive state support -- and the... -
Medvedchuk tapes, Gaza return, Belarus plane hijacking, Eurovision: Ukraine’s week in reviewKYIV NOT KIEV reviews what happened in Ukraine last week: new intercepts allegedly proving the criminal intentions of pro-Russian politician Medvdechuk to sell off a Ukrainian pipeline, the return of... -
Ukraine’s European heritage is in its language’s DNAThroughout centuries, the history of the Ukrainian language was as turbulent as the history of Ukraine itself. Captured in the words of modern-day Ukrainian are not only memories of the... -
Belarus crisis may not work out as Putin hopes, Shelin saysMany in Moscow are suggesting that the Belarus crisis will work in Vladimir Putin’s favor, leaving the isolated Alyaksandr Lukashenka to agree to any unification plans the Kremlin leader cares... -
Call for proposals: create a project to honor victims of MH17The Promote Freedom Foundation announces a tender for an artistic project to honor the memory of MH17 passengers. The grant of 2000-5000 euros will be awarded to create and implement... -
World must respond as strongly as possible to “Belarusian Milošević” – Ukrainian NGOsDictators understand only the language of power, says an open letter by Ukrainian NGOs, who call on the world to "respond as strongly as possible" to the “Belarusian Milošević” in... -
Meet the Ukrainian teenagers who like to change the worldTeenagers are notorious for their nihilism and obsession with possession, especially in post-Soviet societies. But the teen participants of this Ukrainian project are bucking the trend: armed with the slogan... -
No, Belarusian dissident Protasevich is not a neo-Nazi. But the Kremlin sure wants you to think soAt the start of the Belarusian protests against rigged elections, a pro-Lukashenka anonymous Telegram channel smeared their organizer, Roman Protasevich, as a neo-Nazi -- a technique as old as the... -
Ukraine moves closer to restoring justice for victims of Russia’s war crimesWith the outbreak of Russian aggression against Ukraine in Crimea and Donbas since 2014, thousands of innocent people have been killed, wounded and displaced. War crimes committed by Russian proxy... -
Moscow set to add Baltic countries, Poland, Ukraine and Georgia to list of ‘unfriendly countries’Many observers were surprised when the first list of countries the Russian government considers unfriendly to Russia had only two states on it, the Czech Republic and the United States.... -
Ukraine’s new generation of entrepreneurs dreams of ending the era of the oligarchsThe Soviet Union collapsed, but left a legacy of trauma and scars which affected different areas of life. After its end, the wild 1990s saw the emergence of Ukrainian oligarchs....
