by Helen Womack | 25 Jan 2021 | Europe, Future of Democracy, Human Rights, Politics
Vladimir Putin has ruled Russia with an iron fist for two decades. Now, dissident Alexei Navalny is testing the Kremlin leader’s enduring grip on power. Demonstrators clash with police during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in...
by Helen Womack | 20 Oct 2020 | Donald Trump, Future of Democracy, Nationalism, Politics
There were huge hopes for democracy at the end of the Cold War. But the West has squandered its leadership, leaving the world rudderless. A Muscovite woman leaves a food store with empty shelves in downtown Moscow, 28 October 1991. (AP Photo/Yuri Romanov) Below are...
by Helen Womack | 15 Jun 2020 | Europe, Human Rights
U.S. protests over race have given some Russians an excuse to bash America. Others fear street action in Russia is a distant dream. Russians have watched in disbelief as protests have swept the United States over the police killing of black American George Floyd. The...
by Julian Nundy | 24 Sep 2019 | Conflict, Europe, Ukraine
Ukraine and Russia have swapped prisoners, to the chagrin of investigators exploring the downing of a passenger jet. But will the swap promote peace? Ukrainians protest against the release of Volodymyr Tsemakh, a possible witness to the downing of the MH17 Malaysia...
by Bernd Debusmann | 17 May 2019 | Americas, Decoders, Donald Trump, Europe
The Soviet Union and its allies opposed the West for 36 years. After the Iron Curtain fell, NATO expanded, deepening Russian-Western tensions. Russian Premier Nikolai Bulganin signs the eight-nation Warsaw Pact, Warsaw, Poland, 14 May 14, 1955 (AP Photo) The North...