Rusia

With Russian Route Blocked, Uzbekistan Looks to Indian-Iranian-Afghan Chabahar Port Project

The Russo-Ukraine war, the extensive Western sanctions against Russia, and the growing possibility that European border states will block east-west transit corridors traversing Russian territory into Europe are having far-reaching implications for the landlocked countries of Central Asia, which have historically relied on road and rail corridors through Russia to reach markets there and beyond. Prior to the war, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Belarus had all hoped to be part of the “New Eurasian Land Bridge” linking Europe to East Asia. But those aims were derailed when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale re-invasion of Ukraine on February 24. This has created a severe headache for China, endangering as it does its Belt and Road Initiative’s (BRI) northern route, which crossed Russia and the Black Sea via Central Asia (South China Morning Post, March 12).

Kosovo welcomes first Ukrainian journalist refugee

Open Democracy journalist Lyudmila Makey is the first Ukrainian journalist displaced by the war to move to Kosovo under the ‘Journalist in Residence’ scheme.

“I thank all of you for enabling me to come to Kosovo. This programme will allow me to continue to work as a journalist. I am deeply touched by the fact that complete strangers want to help us,” Makey said upon her arrival in Pristina.

Petition against Russia sanctions presented in Belgrade

A petition against imposing sanctions on Russia was presented in Belgrade on Monday after signatures were collected from 200 public figures, including the academics Matija Becković, Kosta Čavoški and Vasilije Krestić, Serbian Orthodox Church bishops Irinej and David, filmmaker Emir Kusturica and former ambassador to Russia, Slavenko Terzić.

Bulgarians reject Russia as model state

Only a quarter of Bulgarians trust Russian President Vladimir Putin as support for him has continued to decline since the start of the war, a nationally representative survey by Alpha Research has found.

The drop in Putin’s rating in Bulgaria in just one year is remarkable – a year ago, his positive rating was 55%. Now 61% of Bulgarians distrust the Russian president.

French embassy returns to Kyiv

The French embassy was re-established in Kyiv this weekend after security conditions were deemed “acceptable” in the Ukrainian capital.

The French embassy returned to Kyiv on Friday (15 April), while it continues to advise French nationals against travelling to Ukraine formally. Before the re-establishment, the embassy was moved to Lviv, where it had been functioning since 28 February.

Russians at War

Putin’s Aggression Has Turned a Nation Against Itself

In early April, the coffin containing the body of 75-year-old Vladimir Zhirinovsky—the ultranationalist and populist who was a crucial pillar of the Russian state for two decades—was taken to the Hall of Columns in central Moscow for people to pay their respects. Sixty-nine years ago, it was there that Stalin had lain in state, in the process killing one last wave of Russians, who were crushed to death in the huge crowds that had gathered to bid farewell to the Soviet dictator.

NATO: Whose Security?

Insanity has often been defined as trying the same thing over and over and getting the same result.

Case in point, Ukraine was seeking NATO membership to bolster its security. This membership would have come at the expense of Russian security, as Russian president Vladimir Putin made clear. To thwart NATO’s (i.e., the US’s) hegemonic ambitions and preserve its own security, Russia felt compelled to address its security concerns. When these Russian security concerns were treated with contempt by the US and Ukraine, Russia took action to protect itself.