Tag Archives: ukraine

Storm clouds from Crimea

Posted on April 2, 2014 by

The invasion of Crimea was a reality check for all of us that assumed that Russia had been integrated into a rule-based global system and was working fairly rationally. As I have blogged before, most of us were wrong about … Continue reading →

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Time machine

Posted on March 16, 2014 by

I have repeatedly blogged about the tremendous costs Russia would incur by annexing Crimea. As the referendum on the peninsula’s joining Russia takes place today, those costs are still there in the background: if the Russian government accepts the peninsula … Continue reading →

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Call my bluff

Posted on February 26, 2014 by

There it is: the longer, more violent and potentially more dangerous version of the Orange Revolution turned Ukraine around and put Viktor Yanukovych out to grass for good. Partly because of Yanukovych tragically poor political skills but also because of … Continue reading →

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The failed disciple #2 – The failing master

Posted on February 21, 2014 by

This is the end of Viktor Yanukovych’s political career. The reason is still the same that I pointed out a month ago: he is a petty tyrant, but more importantly, a bad politician. Following the clashes of the past two … Continue reading →

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The failed disciple

Posted on January 23, 2014 by

In the past week, Ukraine’s president, Viktor Yanukovych has exposed himself as a petty tyrant by cracking down on opposition protesters in a brutal and dictatorial manner, after having passed undemocratic legislation. Even more importantly, he showed that he was … Continue reading →

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Bumps ahead

Posted on January 6, 2014 by

2013 was clearly the year of Vladimir Putin. After an embarrassing 2011 and a whacky 2012, the Russian president solidified his grip on the domestic political realm, tightened the screws so efficiently that by the end of the year he … Continue reading →

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A one-legged giant

Posted on December 9, 2013 by

As I am writing this blog entry, there is a tense standoff between protesters and policemen in Kiev, both groups waiting for the ultimatums they have given each other to run out. Sham roundtable talks are in preparation, featuring two … Continue reading →

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