Russia

Russia

The miscalculation of small nations

The Russia-Georgia war emphasises the need for a nuanced understanding of international politics that recognises the autonomy of local agents, says Fred Halliday.

The brief and vicious war between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia has killed an untold number of people and displaced and traumatised many thousands more; promised a lengthy and abrasive aftermath; postponed even further the prospects of a settlement over this and the region's other territory lost to Georgia's control in the early 1990s, Abkhazia; created new enmities as well as poisoning existing ones; and planted

Russia's Upside in the Georgia Conflict

in
Fortunately, the Russia-Georgia war was short-lived, but its repercussions will be felt for longer. By defeating Georgia and showing that Washington was unable to defend its own ally, Russia humiliated the United States in front of the whole world.

While U.S. officials and the global media criticized Russia for its "unforgivable" conduct in invading South Ossetia and Georgia, most of the world was filled with delight: At last, someone put high-handed Americans in their place. Against the background of anti-U.S. sentiment during President George W.

The US and Russia: the limits of a superpower

in
The war between Russia and Georgia has shown the US that its power and influence in the region is limited, but it has also fed the Russian imperialist agenda in the Caucasus, writes Boris Kagarlitsky

Internationally the war is a big blow for the US, at least in Central Europe and the Caucasus. It has suddenly shown that the influence and control of the sole superpower is limited. There are situations when the superpower cannot protect its client states such as Georgia.

But this is a difficult situation for the left in Russia because there is no side to sympathise with.

Capitalism in One State

in

When Vladimir Putin was president, he liked to give short, somewhat ironic answers to difficult questions. In 2000, for example, when U.S.

Vicious circle

Russia is confronted by three major opponents – Estonia, Ukraine and Georgia. Apparently, their importance, reputation and might are most matched against the scale of modern Russia’s political ambitions. A country can be judged by the opponents it faces.

The Russian foreign policy boringly runs around in circles: the row with Estonia on the historic past, the squabbles between Moscow and Kyiv over the Crimea and Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the confrontation with Georgia because of its breakaway republics etc.

Russia and the Crisis of the Global Economy

The world economic crisis is at an early stage, manifesting itself primarily in the area of finance, but it will spread from the US to the “new industrial countries” and the global contraction in production will lead to stagflation. An in-depth analysis of the possibilities and implications of a global industrial downturn.

In the early weeks of 2008 virtually all Russian and foreign experts viewed the situation in the world economy favourably.

Medvedev Is Neither Tsar Nor Saint

in
Russians have a serious problem on their hands. They don't know which of the two tsars is the real one – Medvedev or Putin.

Russians have a serious problem on their hands. They don't know which of the two tsars is the real one.

Russia has been governed by collective leadership more than once, starting when Tsar Peter (before he became "the Great") shared the throne with his half-brother, Ivan V. In addition, there were attempts at collective leadership after Josef Stalin's death and after Nikita Khrushchev's ouster.

A battle against everything Soviet

Lithuania and Latvia have begun a new campaign in the struggle against the consequences of the Soviet occupation of their countries. Last year, Estonia also participated in this battle against everything Soviet when it relocated a monument to Soviet World War II soldiers who had fallen in the war against Nazism -- a move that sparked a storm of protest among Russians in both Estonia and Moscow.

In the latest round, Latvia has announced a decision to halt state support for colleges and universities that teach classes in Russian.

Celebrating Russia's Independence

It's amazing how difficult it is to remember the name of the holiday on June 12. First it was called Independence Day in 1991, then, in 1994, it was renamed the Day of the Declaration of the Sovereignty of the Russian Federation, and finally, in 2002, Putin again renamed it Russia Day.

Unlike Russia Day, people seem to remember the Nov. 4 holiday easily, even though it came into being only three years ago -- perhaps because this is the day that neo-fascists hold their marches. The State Duma created this holiday as a substitute for the Nov.

Embarrassment in the Kremlin

While in America they cannot make their minds about the Democratic presidential candidate, in Russia we have a different agenda - what will be the foreign policy of the newly elected President.

Syndicate content