Protesters disrupt LSO Gergiev concert on Trafalgar Square

Russian conductor backs Putin regime’s action in Ukraine 
London – 11 May 2014

The Russian conductor Valery Gergiev’s concert in Trafalgar Square tonight (Sunday 11 May 2014) was disrupted by 30 pro-Ukrainian demonstrators and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. They were protesting against Gergiev’s support for the Putin regime and for Russia’s interference in Ukraine.

Waving Ukrainian flags and holding a huge banner ‘Gergiev Supports War in Ukraine’, they booed Gergiev as he walked on stage to conduct Prokofiev with the London Symphony Orchestra. They then pointed at Gergiev and chanted “Shame on you”.

Head of Ukrainian Church Meets with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper

OTTAWA, May 8 – The Head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC) met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper today to discuss the crisis in Ukraine. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv is in Canada for a ten-day visitation of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy (Diocese) of Toronto.

The Major Archbishop told the Prime Minister that his Church has consistently called for peace and reconciliation in Ukraine. However, the aggression by representatives of the Russian Federation has undermined the Church’s efforts to maintain calm. “There was no tension between Ukrainians and Russians in Ukraine until the Russian government annexed Crimea,” said the 44-year-old Primate of the five-million-strong Church. “It is the illegal actions of the Russian government – following upon years of Kremlin-backed corruption in Kyiv – that have brought strife to the country.”

Why Moscow Desperately Wants a ‘New Cold War’ – and Why There Isn’t and Won’t be One

Paul Goble, originally on Window on Eurasia

Staunton, May 9 – Moscow commentators have been denouncing the West for launching “a new cold war” against Russia, and a large share of Western commentators have assumed that this is because the Russian leadership doesn’t want one. In fact, Moscow is desperate to have that the new-old paradigm be restored at least at the level of rhetoric for at least three reasons.

Thomas Friedman: Putin Fears Ukraine Much More Than America

Serhiy Leshchenko, Ukrayinska Pravda, 25 April 2014, 17:40

Thomas Friedman is an American journalist, one of the world’s most influential columnists writing twice weekly for the world’s most influential newspaper, The New York Times. His subjects for analysis, not mere news coverage, are international politics, globalization, and the Middle East.

Friedman received the first of his three Pulitzer Prizes for covering the 1982 Lebanon war, and the name of his second to last book, The World Is Flat, has become just as much of a mem as Francis Fukuyama’s The End of History. All Western researchers and experts either agree with him or refer to him.

While visiting Kyiv with his lecture, A Brief Theory of Everything, Friedman shared with Ukrayinska Pravda his impartial thoughts on the transformations of post-revolution states, and spoke about Vladimir Putin’s fears.

German ‘Putin’s Network’ against Ukraine (from European press)

Radiosvoboda, 06.05.2014

European newspapers inform about changes in forecasts of NATO leaders in respect of Russia’s next steps in Ukraine. As the Alliance’s Supreme Commander Philip Breedlove says, “currently Russia is unlikely to directly invade Ukraine” and predicts that Putin “heads for discrediting the Ukrainian government and organizing the riots and unrest in order to pave the way for a separatist movement”. The press also reports about U.S. financial and diplomatic ‘assault forces’ landing in Europe to coordinate new large-scale economic sanctions against Russia with the EU countries leaders. The observers also analyze Germany’s proposal to convene a new round of negotiations on Ukraine in Geneva and draw attention to the so-called ‘Putin’s network’ in Germany, which speaks out against the rights of Ukrainians to independence and justifies Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is furious about “sanctions” of a Swiss college due to the situation in Ukraine

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation has heatedly criticized the response given to an applicant from Russia by the headmaster of a college in Lausanne, who contacted her concerning the possibility of a placement.

This response was published on the Facebook page of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation:

Russia’s corruption campaign in the EU

by Thomas C. Theiner

Everlasting stupidity: 250,000€ per year

Ever wondered why many Western business managers, journalists, politicians, or pundits defend Putin’s aggressive and oppressive policies? Ever wondered why so few Russians in Russia and abroad speak out against Putin’s oppressive policies? If you haven’t wondered yet, that is because as a Westerner you cannot fathom in the slightest the Putin system of oppression, coercion, and corruption.

New National Poll: Ukrainians Oppose Russia and Want to Join the EU

Kyiv, April 30, 2014

The vast majority of Ukrainians don’t support Russian intervention in Ukraine and think Ukraine should remain a united, unitary state with strong ties to the EU. These were the results of a recent survey conducted in Ukraine by the public opinion and market research company Baltic Surveys/The Gallup Organization on behalf of the International Republican Institute (IRI). Despite Russia’s claims to the contrary, almost two-thirds of Russian-speaking citizens and eastern Ukrainians don’t want Russian “protection”. More than half of Russian speakers strongly approve the interim government. According to IRI polling, there is a striking difference between the true opinions of Ukrainians and how they are being portrayed by Russian propaganda.

Children of Russian officials prefer overseas?

Lavrov’s daughter is not the only one living a good life abroad

While the notion of new Russian patriotism is being profoundly propagated to general public, Russia’s high-ranking officials are hardly adhering to the ideals, which they are trying to promote to the masses.

The international community mobilises to recover stolen assets for the people of Ukraine

Lancaster House, London

A high-level international meeting to support the Government of Ukraine in recovering stolen assets began on 29 April 2014 in London. The gathering is a landmark for Ukraine in underscoring the rule of law and international cooperation. The international community and the Government of Ukraine are united in their commitment and determination in returning stolen assets to the people of Ukraine.