UKRAINE STRIKES BACK
Turnaround, as they say, is fair play. We now live in a world where Ukraine has invaded Russia and controls territory roughly the size of New York City. Continue reading
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PUTIN’S HOSTAGE-TAKING TERROR MACHINE
The recent prisoner exchange that freed U.S. hostages, Russian political prisoners, and other wrongfully detained people from Vladimir Putin’s gulag served as a stark reminder about the nature of the Kremlin’s so-called criminal justice system. Continue reading
THE GEOPOLITICS OF THE SOUTH CAUCASUS
A summer of political crisis winds down with a critical election looming in Georgia as a restive and pro-Western civil society seeks to oust an entrenched pro-Kremlin oligarch from power. … Continue reading
ROGUE RUSSIA
It was the day Moscow’s dreams of empire ended up costing European lives. It was the day the Kremlin lost its last vestiges of credibility. And it was the day when it became impossible to continue even pretending that Vladimir Putin’s regime was anything close to respectable. Continue reading
WRONGFULLY DETAINED
It has been nine months since Russian authorities arrested my friend and former colleague Alsu Kurmasheva, a dual US-Russian citizen and a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir Service. Continue reading
UKRAINE: THE VIEW FROM THE FRONT
Russia’s summer offensive appears to have stalled.
As NATO leaders meet in Washington to mark the alliance’s 75th anniversary and as Russia’s war against Ukraine approaches its 900th day, U.S. officials say it is highly unlikely that Moscow will make any significant territorial gains in the coming months. Continue reading
PUTIN PLAYS THE PYONGYANG CARD
In the week since Vladimir Putin’s summit with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang, two opposing narratives have emerged. Continue reading
RUSSIA THE COLONIZER
Russia’s war against Ukraine and Ukraine’s spirited defense of its sovereignty and independence have been framed in various ways over the years, including as a battle between democracy and autocracy and a geopolitical showdown between Russia and the West. Continue reading
GEORGIA ON THE BRINK
Despite weeks of protests that brought tens of thousands of Georgians onto the streets of the capital Tbilisi in protest, the government has enacted a controversial Russian-style law that would effectively neutralize independent civil society organizations. Continue reading
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
After centuries of neutrality, Sweden this year became the 32nd member of NATO, a decision triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
In addition to adding a highly capable military force to the transatlantic alliance, the move fundamentally changes the security equation in the Baltic Sea region and northern Europe.
It also adds a new member state that has been a leading force in supporting Ukraine’s defense, resisting Russian aggression, and assisting democratic forces in Belarus.
So how does the West’s standoff with Russia look from Stockholm as Sweden becomes NATO’s newest member? Continue reading