Page 53 - Post Soviet News Today

© Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst The biggest overall issue of 2020 by far was the global reaction to Covid-19 and there is a prevailing belief that somehow 2021 will be automatically different because one digit in the year has changed. The world is waiting for this to all be “over”. But, perhaps the big question shouldn’t be when the Coronavirus issue ends but how it ends. This health crisis, just like any other, provides the catalyst for political change and has already left a bureaucr...

El Kremlin impulsa varias iniciativas para sofocar la disidencia y limitar las manifestaciones con vistas a las legislativas de 2021

Delight of american foreign policy experts. he represented a new day in ukraine, a country still struggling to overcome its crooked post-soviet past. not to mention armed conflict with russian-backed forces, for which ukraine was receiving american funding. so its no surprise zelensky was eager to forge a relationship with the u.s. and soon found the main artery of communication with donald trump was rudy giuliani. may 20th, two very important things happened. first, president zelensky officiall...

In that letter president trump congratulated president zelensky on his election victory and invited him to a meeting in the oval office. once i arrived in kiev, i discovered a weird combination of encouraging, confusing and ultimately alarming sessions. first the encouraging, president zelensky was reforming ukraine in a hurry. he appointed reformist minsters and supported long-stalled anti-corruption legislation. he took quick executive action, including opening ukraines high anti-corruption co...

This inquiry, to best of my ability and recollection, subject to the limits placed on me by the law and this process. i will begin with opening comments of the key principles at the heart of what brings me before you today. to wit, principle public service in pursuit of our enduring national interests in the place of ukraine in our national around security intereand secur. for the past five years we have provided across the atlantic to support ukraine and its fight for the cause of freedom and t...

Security and our elections. several key events in this exami scheme took place in the month and this process. i will begin with some opening of july. commence on the key principles on july 10th ambassador sondland at the heart of what brings me informed a group of u.s. and before you today. ukrainian officials meeting at to wit, principled public the white house that, according to chief of staff mick mulvaney, service in pursuit of our enduring national interests and a white house meeting the pl...

So vladimir putin, you know, went in just a couple years time from a nobody in st. petersburg to having a series of the most important jobs in russia. for someone like a former lieutenant colonel to rise to be the president of russia was a shocking event in russian post-soviet society. he was pretty ruthless in following the kgb playbook throughout his very unlikely rise in politics and also obviously since hes been the president of russia. had you told me or i think most people, russians or ame...

He has nothing really to tell them. hes bluffing. and he convinces them not to storm the building and to go away. vladimir putin returns to russia in tumult, the soviet union collapsing, ends up working for a very charismatic first post-soviet mayor of st. petersburg. so vladimir putin, you know, went in just a couple years time from a nobody in st. petersburg to having a series of the most important jobs in russia. for someone like a former lieutenant colonel to rise to be the president of russ...

There was no agreement initially when the cold war ended. >> it was by 1991 there was an agreement, though, in that first year. >> there was. i mean, look, lets be clear. nato took advantage of the weakness of the post-soviet -- im just going to -- its extremely controversial. ill editorialize for a moment. but heres an important point to all of this. on top of the nato thing, so theres anyway to too but nato is just one institution. the sort of through line here is the sort of skepticism of all...

Theres sort of an interesting rubber hitting the road. nato is one institution, but the trump vision seems sort of skepticism of all of them. >> right. this isnt just about nato. this is an attack on europe, and it doesnt take into account, for example, the deal that was made in 1990 at the end of the cold war, when the first bush administration and gorbachev agreed in return for the now russia, formerly soviets accepting the idea that reunified germany would join nato, that the agreement was na...