Boris Akunin: In any case, Putin will end badly

In an interview to DW correspondent Nikita Zholkver, the famous writer Boris Akunin compared the current situation in Russia with the times between the two Russian revolutions. 

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How Dnipropetrovsk citizens became Ukrainians

Russian-speaking Dnipropetrovsk has always been impartial in its opinion on the rest of Ukraine. None of the local politicians sparked anti-Ukrainian hysteria, but there has been no uprise of Ukrainian patriotism here either. Back in February thousands of Dnipropetrovsk citizens, akin to those in Donetsk and Kharkiv, gathered for Anti-Maidans.

Everything changed in March, when local industrial magnate Igor Kolomoyskiy became the governor of the oblast, and the co-owner of the biggest shopping mall in the city “Passage” Boris Filatov was appointed his deputy. By the way, during the last days of Yanukovich’s presidency, when Filatov was outside of Ukraine, the government quickly made up criminal charges against the businessman because the big screen inside “Passage” shopping mall, instead of traditional advertising, started broadcasting Channel 5 during the clashes in Maidan. 

Putin’s War in Ukraine Marks Rebirth of Stalinism in Russia, Chubais Says

Paul Goble, originally on Window on Eurasia

Sevastopol, Crimea after Russian occupation: Stalin, a man who killed millions of people, is now greeting the city and its guests

Staunton, June 16 – The Russian authorities have unleashed and are conducting a war in Ukraine, “a new type of war without declaration or a front line” and one that is simultaneously “destroying all official Soviet and post-Soviet myths and clarifying the real nature of the political regime in Russia,” according to Igor Chubais.

Chubais, a Moscow professor and commentator and the elder brother of UES head Anatoly Chubais, says in a blog post yesterday that as a result of what Putin is doing in Ukraine, “everyone must understand that a reborn and updated Stalinist regime is operating in Russia” (aboutru.com/2014/06/i7333/).

Reflections on Communist Crime and Punishment in the Light of the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity

Myroslav Marynovych, speaking at the ceremony of the Truman–Reagan Award,
Washington DC, June 11, 2014

Distingushed Guests,

First of all let me thank once again, in your presence, the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation for awarding me the Truman–Reagan Medal of Freedom.  It’s a true honor for me and for many of my fellow Ukrainians.

Let me further develop some ideas expressed during my earlier Acceptance speech.

As you already know, I had been a prisoner of conscience (as Amnesty International puts it), imprisoned from 1977 to 1987 for human rights activities in the former Soviet Union.  The time in the Soviet GULAG happened to be the most difficult, but, at the same time, the most spiritually rewarding in my life.

“We will shoot you now and nobody will look for you!” – How “Berkut” veterans are living with Maidan veterans

This week I was supposed to be in the territorial defence battalion “Aidar” with the Ukrainian Defence Ministry. Instead of this, I am writing this blog in Somy.

I will try to avoid being emotional in describing our adventures to the maximum. 

Matters External and Internal, June 13

By Jon Barrow

There is broad agreement that Poroshenko has been giving a good account of himself so far.  He gave an excellent inaugural speech; but has also been displaying the kind of behavior which might suggest he understands the idea of public service.  This is in stark contrast to Yanukovich, who behaved like an oriental potentate – shutting down roads to speed around in convoys of black limousines; on one occasion Yanu’s security detail – the story goes – blocked off the public toilet on a visit to Brussels – denying access to bewildered Eurocrats, while the boss relieved himself. 

What Yatseniuk’s Cabinet of Ministers achieved in 100 days

The government has carried out the plans in regard to collaboration with the IMF. The least progress is in the social sphere. 

Arseniy Yatseniuk’s Cabinet of Ministers has passed the 100-day barrier, after which the moratorium on the criticism of the government’s work ends. But the majority of the experts surveyed by Forbes are not hasty to make use of this right now. Their verdict: under conditions of war, the Cabinet of Ministers has done everything possible, and it is at least naïve to demand reform, even those they had promised and those that are very relevant. 

The Future of Maidan

By Thomas Theiner

The newly elected mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, has announced that Maidan – the heart of the Euromaidan revolution in the center of Kyiv – will be cleared in the near future. We agree. Euromaidan has driven the dictator out; and it is now time to rebuild the nation. The people still on Maidan should either go to fight the Russian invasion in the east; or return to their communities, and ensure that corruption is cleansed from the nation – even in the smallest villages.

Stop Supporting Terrorists! No Business with Putin’s Criminal Regime, Says London Euromaidan

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 from 18:00

Ukrainians in London demonstrated outside the Royal Automobile Club on Pall Mall, where the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) Business Forum 2014 ‘Russia & Britain – Building Business in the Current Climate’ will be taking place 

 

On Wednesday, Ukrainians living in London demonstrated outside the Royal Automobile Club on Pall Mall, demanding the RBCC stops doing business with Putin’s criminal regime and demand the introduction of “Iran style” sanctions against Russia.

Stop Supporting Terrorists! No Business with Putin’s Criminal Regime

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 from 18:00: Ukrainians in London will demonstrate outside the Royal Automobile Club on Pall Mall, where the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce (RBCC) Business Forum 2014 ‘Russia & Britain – Building Business in the Current Climate’ will be taking place 

On Wednesday, Ukrainians living in London will demonstrate outside the Royal Automobile Club on Pall Mall, demanding the RBCC stops doing business with Putin’s criminal regime and demand the introduction of “Iran style” sanctions against Russia.