by Mark N. Katz What a difference a few months make. During much of 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin was riding high. Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine quickly and relatively bloodlessly. Putin was also able to help pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine effectively secede from the rest of the country and prevent the Ukrainian government
by Igor Torbakov The leading Bolshevik historian Mikhail Pokrovsky famously defined history as “politics projected into the past.” Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, is taking that concept, and running with it. The importance of history to the Kremlin was on full display at Putin’s recent meeting with young scholars and teachers of history at Moscow’s Museum
by Robert E. Hunter Twenty-five years ago, on “9/11”—November 9th in European date-notation—the Berlin Wall opened and, it seemed, everything changed. Freedom was no longer just an aspiration across much of Europe but a rising reality. The transformation was so profound that it is now hard to remember the bad old days of communist oppression
by Fausto Biloslavo
Almost 80 years ago, ideological true believers from all over the world flocked to Spain to fight in a civil war, serving in the famed International Brigades on the Republican side. These days, echoes of Spain can be found in Ukraine, where foreign ideologues now can be found battling separatists backed by [...]
via LobeLog
by Sara Vakhshouri
After almost a decade of negotiations, Moscow reached a 400 billion dollar energy deal with Beijing yesterday, allowing the Russian state-controlled Gazprom to export gas to China for 30 years.
The key agreement guarantees long-term market access for Russian gas in the Asian market, where Russia has historically had [...]
via LobeLog
by Mark N. Katz
As if the crisis in Ukraine wasn’t bad enough, the resulting tensions between Russia on the one hand and the US and most of Europe on the other will likely cause increased tension between Moscow and the West in the Middle East. Moscow can be expected to become [...]
via LobeLog
by James A. Russell
Russia’s storming of the Ukrainian naval base in Crimea just as Iran and world powers wrapped up another round of negotiations in Vienna earlier this week represent seemingly contradictory bookends to a world that some believe is spinning out of control.
It’s hard not to argue that the [...]
by Mark N. Katz
Looking back over the past year, Moscow appears to have good reason to congratulate itself on the success of its foreign policy toward Iran and Syria in particular, and toward the Middle East in general. Indeed, while they did not necessarily do so at Moscow’s behest, several actors that play an [...]
via LobeLog
by Mark N. Katz
The prospects for improved ties between Washington and Tehran have dramatically increased since Hassan Rouhani replaced Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president of Iran in August 2013. This has made several parties quite nervous, including American conservatives (who fear it is a trick) as well as Iranian conservatives, Arab Gulf [...]
by Shawn Amoei
Foreign Affairs
Addressing an annual gathering of IRGC officials, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei spoke of the necessity for “heroic flexibility” in diplomacy. President Hassan Rouhani welcomed a Russian proposal aimed at eliminating Syria’s nuclear weapons. Rouhani spoke of repairing relations with Saudi Arabia on Thursday, saying, “This issue has [...]
En Español
The Latest
From IPS News
- Revival of Hope: How a Remote Indian Village Overcame Water Scarcity
- Ahead of UN Summit of the Future, Mobilizing Youth for Change
- The Kids of the Islamic State: A Childhood Stolen
- The Gambia Must Not Repeal FGM Ban
- Global Governance: Time for Reform
- Abandoned Children Growing Problem in Northern Syria
- IMF Urges Non-alignment in Second Cold War
- Child Malnutrition in Peru Driven Up by Poverty and Food Insecurity
- Governments Worldwide Prioritize School Feeding for Its Multiple Benefits
- Parents Harness Pedal and Wind Power To Demand Climate Action
- Online fundraising for IPS Inter Press Service at Razoo