Shifting Memorialization of WWII in Latvia
After the USSR re-occupied Latvia from Nazi Germany in 1944, they constructed a narrative that framed the USSR as a welcome liberator. This was designed…
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Holodomor Remembrance and Ukrainian Nation Building
The memory of the Holodomor has become integral to modern Ukrainian identity. Having lived through that tragic and horrible event as a nation, it is…
Recommended Books for Understanding Russia
The following books are those that have left a deep impression on me. They are books that I was driven to pick up and keep…
Book Review of Defining Latvia: Recent Explorations in History, Culture, & Politics.
Loader, Michael, Hearne, Siobhán, and Matthew Kott. Defining Latvia: Recent Explorations in History, Culture, & Politics. Central European University Press, Budapest, 2022. 364 pp., $9.99…
Examining the Threat of the Azov Movement in Ukraine
The Azov movement has gained in reputation and power, not only in their home country of Ukraine, but across the world. The group, which began…
The Dacha in Modern Russian History and Legislation
The Russian word “дача” is often translated into English as “summer residence” or “cottage,” but the best translation is simply a transliteration to English: “dacha.”…
2020 Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly in Side-by-Side Translation
Vladimir Putin’s annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly of 2020 may go down in history as one of Russia’s most important. In the address,…
Svyatoslav Vakarchuk: The Ukrainian Parliament’s Rock Star
Svyatoslav Ivanovich Vakarchuk is best known as the lead singer of Okean Elzy, arguably Ukraine’s most popular and successful rock band. He has long used his…
Voice of Ukraine: Campaign Platform in English
Voice is a Ukrainian political party established by Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, the lead singer of Okean Elzi, one of the most popular Ukrainian rock bands in…
Volodymyr Zelensky: Comedy and Politics
Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelensky is the current President of Ukraine. He won the 2019 Ukrainian presidential election in a landslide and surprise upset against Petro Poroshonko,…
Volodymyr Zelensky – Campaign Platform in English
In March of 2019, Volodymyr Zelensky did what many thought would be impossible. In the presidential election that month, it looked like Ukraine would see…
Russia’s Communists Celebrate a Birthday… and Possible Succession?
For those following Russia’s domestic political scene, the fairly heavy coverage of Gennady Zyuganov’s 75th birthday should be of interest. Zyuganov is the leader of…
Petro Poroshenko & His Bloc
Bloc of Petro Poroshenko, a pro-Western Ukrainian political party, has an interesting history that revolves around its leader and namesake, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Early…
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…
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 quickly…
Chechen-Ingush Land Dispute: A Policy Primer
Major protests were triggered in Ingushetia’s capital city by a recent land swap between Chechnya and Ingushetia. On September 26, 2018, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov…
Maxim Oreshkin: Young Technocrat and Minister of Economic Development
Maxim Stanislavovich Oreshkin is a Russian economist and former investment banker now serving as Minister of Economic Development for the Russian Federation. At just 36…
Communism in Modern Moscow: Vadim Kumin
Vadim Kumin was the mayoral candidate from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). He took 11.4 percent of the vote to come solidly…
The Communists of Russia: Platform and History
Founded in 2009 and officially registered in Russia as a political party since 2012, the Communists of Russia (KR) are distinct from and considerably more…
Pavel Grudinin: Commercially-Driven Socialism
Pavel Nikolaevich Grudinin is the current Russian presidential nominee from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF). As he is not a member of…