During the last few weeks, the term “russkiy mir,” which can roughly be translated as “Russian world,” suddenly gained increasing prominence. It became the center of numerous initiatives and contentious…
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Russian Federal Law #135-FZ Russia’s recent law banning “homosexual propaganda” to minors has been the subject of protests across Europe and the US. SRAS.org, in an attempt to contribute to…
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Transdnestria, or The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (which is the full name its government uses) lies mostly within in a single narrow valley on the east bank of the Dniester River….
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Moldova: Divided on the Edge of Europe The republic of Moldova may to some appear to be something of an afterthought – a small, landlocked nation on the far eastern…
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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 the global economic crisis and…
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With a population that is 88% ethnically Ukrainian, Lviv is one of the strongholds of what can be considered Ukrainian culture. Although it may have been founded much earlier, the…
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As the third largest city in Ukraine, Odessa has a rich and eclectic history. Located on the Black Sea, about 450 km south of Kiev, the city has always been…
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The Modern Republic of Armenia lies in the turbulent south Caucuses. Although the Armenians as a people have existed for thousands of years, they have known the safety of living…
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Azerbaijan’s name comes from the Persian words, azer, which means “fire” and baygan, which means “protector.” The name was first applied in ancient times to the area around Baku, Azerbaijan’s…
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The following piece is taken from The Russia Reader edited by Bruce Grant and Adele Barker (Duke University Press, 2010). The book is part of a larger series that Duke…
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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 a charismatic, sharp-tongued politician able…
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People’s Front is a new political party in Ukraine, founded in March 2014 by Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and former Parliament Chairman Oleksandr Turchynov. Yatsenyuk is the former leader of…
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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 during the turbulent 1990s…
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Editorial note: the following resource first appeared in Russian in Bolshoi Gorod, an independent, Moscow-based Russian-language newspaper that provides considerable coverage of political issues, social issues, and daily life in…
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“Prosperity in Unity” is the official motto of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, a parliamentary republic that exists within Ukraine and occupies most of the Crimean Peninsula, with the exclusion…
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Ukraine is no longer “The Ukraine.” For centuries, the definite article was considered appropriate, given the land’s history and the name’s meaning. However, given recent events, the article is usually…
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Palimpsest: (n) a manuscript or piece of writing material on which later writing has been superimposed on effaced earlier writing. Warsaw, Poland’s centrally-located capital, is in many ways an allegory…
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Krakow was the Polish capital from 1038 to 1596 or approximately from the Kingdom of Poland’s historical founding through its golden age. Even after the capital was officially moved, and…
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An Open Letter to the Authorities Boris Akimov is a man of all trades. Until 2010 he worked as a journalist for Afisha and Snob, and has also made a…
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The day before Crimea voted in its independence referendum, The Village, a Moscow-based publication with editions in St. Petersburg and Kiev, asked residents of various Ukrainian cities to report on…
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