The Russian Far East’s main city, Vladivostok, is just one hundred miles from the North Korean border.
Atomic energy and political power in Russia (OpenDemocracy)
In Russia, the space for environmental activism and advocacy is changing under increasing state pressure. An interview with one of Russia’s leading ecological organisations about the prospects for anti-nuclear activism today…
James Carden: Why Was a Call for US-Russia Strategic Dialogue Met With Silence?
Senators Merkley, Sanders, Feinstein and Markey are only asking for common-sense cooperation between the two nuclear superpowers.
Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria Eye Joint Military Brigade (Defense News)
The governments of Ukraine, Romania and Bulgaria are discussing plans to set up a joint military brigade, according to an announcement by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko…
Mikhail Gorbachev: The U.S. and Russia Must Stop the Race to Nuclear War
When I became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, I felt during my very first meetings with people that what worried them the most was the problem of war and peace. Do everything in order to prevent war, they said.
Iran and Russia move closer but their alliance has limits (Reuters)
Some Iranian officials want a strategic alliance, a much deeper relationship than now. But the Kremlin refers only to ongoing cooperation with a new dimension because of the conflict in Syria, in which both back Damascus.
Pat Buchanan: Time to Get Over the Russophobia
Unless there is a late surge for Communist Party candidate Pavel Grudinin, who is running second with 7 percent, Vladimir Putin will be re-elected president of Russia for another six years on March 18. Then we must decide whether to continue on course into a second Cold War, or engage Russia, as every president sought to do in Cold War I.
Proxy wars and provocations: relations between Russia and the US are chilling (The Independent)
…the candle of collaboration past still flickers, writes Rupert Cornwell. Every so often a so-called ‘Elbe Group,’ made up of retired senior US and Russian generals, convenes in a third country to discuss problems in the relationship. The group has no official standing, but is a precious backchannel that allows participants to understand each other’s point of view.
John Evans: Will Trump Ignore a Visit from the President of Nagorno-Karabakh?
Along with France and Russia, the United States has been attempting to mediate the dispute between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh for more than twenty years.
U.S. Still Fails to Understand Russia’s Security Needs (Rachelle Marshall)
With the Islamic State, Boko Haram, and other violent groups wreaking havoc in Africa and the Middle East, and war raging in Syria, Russia and the U.S. would do better to join in a common effort to stop the senseless violence and find a solution to its causes.
Catherine Brown: A Review of Loveless (нелюбящий)
…it is clear that the film’s reception in the West has been leveraged to support the current discourse of Russophobia (which has many causes, and in my opinion involves culpable bias). Consider the title of Emily Yoshida’s review of the film in Vulture.com, ‘Loveless Will Make You Happy You Don’t Live in Russia (Yet)’.
Obama says Russia sanctions must stay in place until Minsk implemented (Reuters)
U.S. President Barack Obama said on Monday that the West needed to uphold the sanctions it has imposed against Russia over the Ukraine crisis until Moscow fully implements the so-called Minsk peace agreement.
Michael T. Klare: The New Cold War Is Here—and Now 3 Major Powers Are Involved
The world contains more potential flash points than ever before.
Steinmeier: It’s Time to Talk (Handelsblatt, Global Edition)
In an exclusive interview with Handelsblatt, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier talks about why rising global tensions and fears of terrorism indicate it may be time to end the stand off with Russia, and insists it is too soon to write off peace talks in Syria.
Paul Robinson: Putin Takes Italy
Americans, Canadians, Brits, Italians, and others, who vote for unexpected people or causes, do so for their own reasons which have nothing to do with Russia.
Germany’s Merkel says truce in eastern Ukraine not being respected (Reuters)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Sunday that a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine was not stable, adding that she and U.S. President Barack Obama had discussed ways to ensure the Minsk peace deal is implemented.
Pavel Devyatkin: Russia’s Arctic Strategy: Aimed at Conflict or Cooperation?
This four article series critically examines Russia’s military, energy, and shipping interests in the Arctic and how Russian policies and actions compare to the existing academic and journalistic rhetoric about the Arctic region.
Ray McGovern: ‘Progressive’ Journalists Jump the Shark on Russiagate
Before the 2016 election, British ex-spy Christopher Steele was contracted (through a couple of cutouts) by the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee to dig up dirt on candidate Donald Trump. They paid him $168,000. They should ask for their money back.
Russia threatens to use ‘all necessary measures’ after US destroyer sails close to border (The Independent)
Moscow accused Washington of intimidation after a US naval destroyer in the Baltic Sea sailed close to its territory. Russian ambassador to Nato, Alexander Grushko, said his country would not take such actions lightly. Speaking after a meeting with the US ambassador to Nato, Mr Grushko added: “This is about attempts to exercise military pressure on Russia
Ben Aris: The Russia Story
What is so striking about the Russia story is its totally schizophrenic nature. The headlines are full of politics and it seems the mainstream press has invested every ounce of their energy into demonising Russia. But investors seem to love Russia (silently). [Read more…] about Ben Aris: The Russia Story