Eastern Europe, National
As Russia fails to inflict quick defeat upon Ukraine after four days of fierce hostilities, Vladimir Putin is about to pull his Belarusian ally, dictator Aleksandr Lukashenko into his war of occupation. Amid many speculations, multiple sources say the decision has been made — and as soon as on Feb. ...
Eastern Europe, National
Russia’s blatant “recognition” of its own puppet enclaves in Ukraine’s Donbas bears a striking resemblance to the events of 2008, when the Kremlin tore off a part of Georgia and invented the “states” of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In its ongoing war in eastern Ukraine, Moscow has so far followed ...
Eastern Europe
Kyrgyz investigative journalist Bolot Temirov was arrested on Jan. 22, days after publishing exposes on allies of President Sadyr Zhaparov. He is facing drug charges, which he says are falsified. The move is an alarming development for Kyrgyzstan, which has fared well in terms of free speech until recently, compared ...
Eastern Europe, National
Russia has begun sending troops and military vehicles to Belarus ahead of February drills as tension with the West rises over potential Ukraine invasion. ...
Eastern Europe
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry put out a statement on Jan. 10 condemning the violence in Kazakhstan over the past week, surprising many with the communiqué’s cautiousness and lateness. The statement came three days after that made by U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and two days after that made by EU ...
Eastern Europe
The Kazakh authorities on Jan. 8 arrested an influential ally of ex-President Nursultan Nazarbayev as an uprising continued in the country. The National Security Committee said that Karim Masimov, the committee’s now-dismissed head, had been arrested on treason charges amid violent protests, one of the aims of which is ousting ...
Eastern Europe
Kazakh government forces appear to have gained the upper hand in their standoff with protesters, but the uprising in the country continued on Jan. 7. According to Kazakhstan’s Interior Ministry, 26 armed protesters and 18 government troops had been killed during clashes nationwide since the beginning of the uprising. More ...
Eastern Europe
Kazakhstan faces an uncertain future as a Russian-led military contingent arrived in the country on Jan. 6 to support embattled president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev amid mass anti-government protests. What started as a demonstration over fuel prices in one city on Jan. 2 rapidly spread nationwide, culminating in large-scale armed clashes over ...
Eastern Europe
A Belarusian court on Dec. 14 sentenced opposition leader and popular blogger Sergei Tikhanovsky to 18 years in a high-security prison. Five other suspects in the Tikhanovsky case were jailed for 14 to 16 years. The verdict is a new low in what has been described as the biggest wave ...
Eastern Europe
Ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili has ended his 50-day hunger strike, AFP reported on Nov. 20, citing his doctor Nikoloz Kipshidze. Saakashvili agreed to end the hunger strike following his transfer to a military hospital’s intensive care unit after he fell unconscious in a Tbilisi prison on Nov. 18. Saakashvili ...
