Who’s Who in Ukrainian Politics
Ukrainian Politics: Major Issues and Personages (Updated) Nearly all of Ukraine’s political struggles can be understood as stemming from two major sources. The first is…
Read MoreArticles by Michael Smeltzer
Michael Smeltzer has degrees in Russian Language and Philosophy from St. Olaf College in Minnesota. At the time he wrote for this site, he had previously studied abroad in Irkutsk and then spent an academic year studying in Vladivostok as part of SRAS's Home and Abroad program.
Kiev: At the Center of a Divided Country
The ancient city of Kiev continues to thrive as the most populous city of Ukraine. Much like other post-Soviet capitals, Kiev’s future looks bright, despite…
Batkivshchyna: Party Platform
Yulia Tymoshenko is perhaps the most powerful, popular, and controversial woman in Eastern European politics. She rose to power quickly during the turbulent 1990s as…
Yulia Tymoshenko & Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) Party
A Coalition of Populism and Nationalism Yulia Tymoshenko is perhaps the most powerful, popular, and controversial woman in Eastern European politics. She rose to power…
Vladimir Putin: Presidential Platform, 2012
President Dmitry Medvedev officially nominated Prime Minister Vladimir Putin at the 2011 United Russia convention to replace him as president. In explaining why Putin was…
Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov’s Speech in Vladivostok
While I wasn’t able to sit down with my family for a traditional Thanksgiving Day meal, I was treated to a certain Thanksgiving Day surprise. …
Yabloko: A New Political Course
Most western observers put substantial hope in Yabloko during the 1990s. Yabloko was an early, strongly pro-West, pro-democracy party that also strongly opposed Yeltsin’s administration….
A Just Russia: Manifesto for 2011
A Just Russia was formed in 2006 from a merger between three parties. The first, a nationalist party called “Rodina” (Fatherland) had won 9% of…
Parnas: The People’s Freedom Party
The People’s Freedom Party, also known as “Parnas,” was founded on September 16, 2010. It is a coalition of four organizations: Russian People’s Democratic Union;…