Russian state television has been vocal in painting Western democracies, especially the U.S., as the reason for all of Russia's problems. The desire for U.S.-made products inside Russia, however, remains high, with the country's providers turning to illegal schemes to cover the demand. After Russia launched its
A corruption case against the brother of presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak has been closed, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) told the Kyiv Independent. The case, which was investigated under the abuse of power article, was closed on Dec. 14, 2021 but the closure wasn't publicly announced
As Ukraine's civil society and the country's Western partners call on the authorities to fight corruption amid Russia's full-scale invasion, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) is showing mixed results. A year has passed since Semen Kryvonos became the head of the NABU in March 2023, replacing the bureau’
The March 22 Moscow mass shooting is likely to be used as a justification for a new wave of terror and oppression in Russia. Russian politicians and propagandists began calling for reinstating the death penalty – a mechanism that can be used not only against terrorists but also against the peaceful
The March 15-17 presidential election was the most rigged in Russia's modern history, according to evidence published by election experts, observers, and media. Estimates of vote rigging range from at least 22 million votes to about 31.6 million votes, without taking into account the online voting and the election
Russian authorities on March 15-17 held a presidential election in two countries – Russia and the regions of Ukraine brutally occupied by the Kremlin. The voting was neither free nor fair, with the result known in advance. In the occupied areas, voting was held illegally at gunpoint. In Russia, the elections
In late 2023, Ukraine finally re-launched the process of vetting judges as part of a long anticipated judicial reform – a key condition for Ukraine's accession to the European Union. Four months later, the results are mixed. On the one hand, the High Qualification Commission, a top judicial body, has approved
Viktor Pavlushchyk was chosen on Feb. 25 as the head of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NACP) - one of Ukraine's main corruption fighting bodies. The Cabinet of Ministers has yet to formally appoint him as the head of the NACP. Pavlushchyk is a detective at the National Anti-Corruption
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death in jail on Feb. 16 follows a long list of murders and suspicious deaths of opponents of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. Since he came to power in 1999, more than 20 Putin critics have been killed or died mysteriously. Many other enemies of the
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's death on Feb. 16 did not come as a surprise for those familiar with Russian politics. Navalny was Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's main opponent, and the Kremlin had used all the tools at its disposal to shut him up. He was sentenced in several fabricated
Season 2 Episode 5 is dedicated to the upcoming Russian presidential election.
Russian elections are usually predictable and dull affairs. The outcome is known beforehand since the Kremlin handpicks all the candidates, has total control over the media and also rigs the votes. Despite this, there has been an unexpected flurry of activity in the run-up to the March 15-17 presidential election
As Russia is waging its war against Ukraine, some high-ranking Ukrainian officials with confirmed or suspected Russian citizenship are doing fine. Ukraine's Constitution bans foreign citizenship for officials. However, in some cases, officials with Russian citizenship are not fired at all, and in other cases Ukraine's judiciary stubbornly resists their
Vsevolod Kniaziev, former chairman of the Supreme Court and a suspect in a bribery case, was released from detention after paying Hr 18 million bail ($450,000) on Jan. 31. Kniaziev has been dismissed from his position as the court's chairman but can return to work as an ordinary judge
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service has alleged that Roman Ihnatov, head of the High Qualification Commission, a key agency in Ukraine's judicial system, has Russian citizenship. Ihnatov, who worked as an investigator in Russia in the 1990s and was required by the law to be a Russian citizen at the time,
Editor's Note: The original version of this text mistakenly said that Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk received $320,000 in wages from the state in 2022, with the actual figure being $32,000. Some of the electronic asset declarations recently filed by top officials have revealed huge earnings, valuable assets, and links
Russian President Vladimir Putin took four hours on Dec. 14 to boast about Russia's alleged economic and military achievements. Among Putin's key messages was that the war would end when Russia achieved its goals, Western assistance to Ukraine would soon end, and Russia would be doing fine on the battlefield.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Dec. 8 that he would participate in the upcoming presidential elections in March, seeking his 5th term in office. Putin, 71, has been in power since 1999 and it’s all but certain that he will secure a six-year term. Russia’s upcoming presidential
One of Ukraine’s biggest embezzlement cases – that against oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky – is likely to be closed due to a recent court ruling, according to the Anti-Corruption Action Center. The ruling may become a death knell for Ukraine’s long-running efforts to prosecute the flamboyant tycoon. Kolomoisky, who is currently
On the tenth anniversary of the pro-Western EuroMaidan Revolution, the Ukrainian parliament approved the first reading of a bill that effectively destroys one of the key tools of the ongoing judicial reform, the Public Integrity Council. The council is an independent civil society watchdog that assesses the integrity of judges
The Ukrainian parliament on Nov. 21 approved the first reading of a bill that effectively destroys a key pillar of judicial reform, the Public Integrity Council, according to civic watchdogs. The Public Integrity Council, an independent civil society watchdog, assesses the integrity of judges and plays a key role in
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been able to build a sustainable authoritarian state, with its economy surviving the shocks of a full-scale war and the following economic sanctions. The key to Putin's success is a team of talented liberal economists who run the state's monetary and fiscal policy. They have
Antisemitic riots erupted in Russia’s North Caucasus on Oct. 28-29, with angry mobs looking for Jews and some going as far as calling for murdering them. The rioters in the Muslim-majority North Caucasian regions protested against Israel amid its ongoing war with Hamas, an Islamist terrorist group in the
Episode #31 is dedicated to the disappointing outcome of the trial against riot police officers who murdered unarmed protestors during Ukraine's EuroMaidan revolution in 2014.
Almost 10 years after the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, a court ruled against those implicated in the murders of dozens of protesters in the revolution's final days. Yet, the prosecutors and lawyers who fought for years to see a fair trial say justice hasn't been served. Kyiv's Svyatoshynsky District Court on
When Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a fake vote to extend his mandate in March 2024, Ukraine will not be allowed to hold an election due to the martial law imposed amid Russia's aggression. This won't suddenly make Russia more democratic than Ukraine. If Russia had not invaded Ukraine, it
As President Volodymyr Zelensky makes a long-awaited trip to the U.S., the White House is set to announce a new $325 million military aid package. According to reports, it will again be missing the much-desired ATACMS long-range missiles, which Kyiv says may turn the tide of Russia’s ongoing
The death of an opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin is not something new in history. More than 20 critics and opponents of Putin have been murdered or died in suspicious circumstances since 2000. However, the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary group and once a
After being mired in corruption and political scandals for decades, Ukraine’s critically important Constitutional Court is now facing an attempt at reform, although its success is far from guaranteed. The issue took center stage when the reform of the Constitutional Court became one of the European Union’s key
Episode #22 of our weekly video podcast “This Week in Ukraine” is dedicated to F-16 fighter jets and the irrational politics behind Western military aid to Ukraine.
After Russian dictator Vladimir Putin launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he swiftly eliminated the liberal anti-war opposition. But Putin now faces a threat from the other side – pro-war hawks who criticize Russia's political and military leadership for mishandling the war effort. As Russia's war against Ukraine
As Ukrainian soldiers are defending their homeland on the front line, officials in the rear are accused of using the war as a pretext for hiding their wealth. They are able to do so because one of Ukraine’s main anti-corruption tools, the asset declaration system, has been effectively eliminated.
