Pro-Russian Lobbyists Penetrate Washington To Enact Anti-Ukraine Legislation: Conyers Spouts Putin Propaganda On The Floor

Ukraine is fighting an uphill war against Russia on many fronts, including simmering hot war in east Ukraine, its uneven battle against Putin’s propaganda machine, and its attempts to neutralize hostile Yanukovich oligarchs who are still on the loose. Add a new one to the list: Ukraine’s impotence against Russia’s all-star roster of lobbyists that include a former German chancellor and former US Senate minority leader. I had thought Ukraine was outgunned in Europe by a coterie of German and French Putin-Versteher, but I now learn that Ukraine is outgunned on Washington’s K Street as well. If you need convincing, just read John Conyers anti-Ukraine and pro-Russian remarks made on the House floor.

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Greece Has Chosen to Become a Banana Republic With its No Vote

It was an in-your-face message to the country’s creditors (largely the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) that Greece won’t be lectured on repaying debts or pension reform anymore. And it leaves the Troika with few options at tomorrow’s emergency summit—either cut Greece loose and accept the consequences, or give in to the country’s demands.

Not much of a choice, given that if the EU caves, it reads like an open invitation to countries like Cyprus, Portugal, Spain and Italy to do exactly what Greece has done. Since when is the Eurozone a transfer union? It cannot be expected to shift funds from high-productivity countries that keep their public finance in order to poorer ones that don’t. There’s a lesson to be learned here, lest the EU blows its chance.


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Greece Got Only Promises, No Money, from its Friend Mr. Putin

A victim of Putin’s typical negotiating tactics, Tsipras left St. Petersburg with an offer of money from a project that might never be completed. Yet Putin got what he wanted: Tsipras was on record as opposing the extension of EU sanctions against Russia.

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Residents Of Donbass Tell Separatists To Leave: A Glimmer Of Hope?

Keep in mind that Russia does not want the occupied Donbass territories as part of Russia. Rather, Putin wants the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk to be independent provinces within a unitary Ukraine that exercises veto power over major domestic and foreign policy decisions. Such an arrangement would spell the end of Ukraine as a state independent of Russia. Hopes for a peaceful settlement coming out of the Minsk negotiations are therefore futile, with no ground for compromise. Russia does not want the Donbass, and Ukraine will not accept a Donbass under rebel control. It’s that simple–although Europe’s peacemakers have trouble accepting that fact.

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Deconstructing Putin's Approval Ratings: One Thousand Casualties For Every Point

Vladimir Putin stakes his claim to leadership on approval ratings that would be the envy of any democratic politician. Skeptics, however, question the meaning of approval ratings when a dictator appoints all political positions and ensures that rivals are distrusted by the electorate. A dictator who controls the media and devotes enormous resources to propaganda can manipulate approval ratings with extraordinary measures, offsetting fundamentals that would otherwise push the favorability rating down. But what does someone like Putin do when he runs out of diversions during a period of prolonged economic stagnation? We’ll perhaps know the answer soon.

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Books About Stalin Everywhere in Moscow

My colleague, Marianna Yarovskaya, sent me these images of a typical Moscow bookstore. Books on Stalin are everywhere. This is part of an official campaign to glorify Stalin's image as a strong and decisive leader who was up to all challenges.

photo courtesy of Marianna Yarovskaya