Presidents, Oligarchs and Potash: Russia’s Trade War With Belarus

At first glance, there are no truer friends than Russia and Belarus. The two states are united by a common history and have strong ethnic and linguistic links. Russia has long subsidized her neighbor with cheap oil and gas, wh...
by Daniel Kennedy
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“In Damascus All is Quiet”: Russians Report from Syria

In Russia, support for Bashar al-Assad’s regime cuts across political lines. Deep suspicions of Western motives for military intervention, combined with a domestic history of Islamist rebel groups, lead even the staunches...
by Andrey Tselikov
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International Political Forum

Why Russia Continues to Support Assad

Despite the current political climate in Moscow with its own unrest in the south, and concern over its “sphere of influence,” President Putin appears dedicated to supporting the Assad regime. Yet Russia, as well as the Unit...
by Virginia Winslow
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International Political Forum

Russian Political Prisoners Ignored by Everyone

Sergey Udaltsov, a leftist protest leader currently under house arrest pending investigation of his alleged planning of the May 6, 2012 Bolotnaya Square riots (the so-called Bolotnaya Square Case), exemplifies the popular sayi...
by Andrey Tselikov
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International Political Forum

WATCH: The race to save the Arctic

Our poles remain the only two parts of our planet unexploited by man, but the growing interest in oil and rich fishing grounds in the Arctic is leading to a free for all as nearby powerful nations scramble to declare the territ...
by Nicky Armstrong
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Russians Wary Of Snowden Asylum

After spending six weeks ensconced in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Edward Snowden was finally permitted to leave the airport “transit zone” after he received temporary asylum in Russia for the period of one year. Slipp...
by Daniel Kennedy
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Climate Change: Focus on the Arctic

The trends of climate change present a worldwide security challenge and require the adequate response of the international community. The negative impacts of these changes are demonstrated regionally in a different extent; larg...
by Lívia Magdošková
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2014 Olympics & Anti-Gay Sentiment In Russia

Discriminatory behavior and recent anti-gay laws are sparking controversy in Russia, who is set to host the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. Human rights activists are outraged at the horrific outpouring of violence culminating gay rig...
by Bre Cruickshank
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International Political Forum

Crooks, Thieves, & the Independent Mayors Who Run Russia

The mayor of Yaroslavl and several of his colleagues will spend the next two months behind bars on extortion charges. Evgeny Urlashov, a former United Russia member who ran as an opposition-friendly independent, won the mayorâ€...
by Global Voices
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